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Petrol tankers in terrorist threat
Last updated at 09:07am on 06.06.07
Anti-terrorist officers fear suicide bombers may attempt to hijack petrol tankers
Police are stopping and searching petrol tankers coming into London amid concerns they might be used as bombs by terrorists.
A massive 'ring of steel' operation involving motorcycle officers is under way to try to block any al-Qaeda strike involving hijacked lorries.
Anti-terrorist officers fear that suicide bombers in Britain may copy tactics used in Iraq, where tankers have been used to blast petrol or poisonous chemicals in crowded areas.
Police emphasise they have no specific intelligence that UK-based terrorists are planning such atrocities. But Scotland Yard has started making regular heavy goods vehicle stops on routes into the capital.
Specialist traffic officers with a knowledge of hazardous chemicals are also manning the roadblocks.
Inspector Phil Letchford said: "We talk to the driver to see whether they are legitimate or not. Often it's a question of judgement, to see if the situation doesn't look right."
Police say the most likely scenario is where terrorists would hijack a petrol or chemical tanker and use it in a suicide mission on a high profile target in central London. Licensed lorry drivers carrying dangerous chemicals including petrol are already advised to vary their routes to avoid being hijacked.
The threat of al Qaeda terrorists using petrol tankers to mount attacks aimed at causing mass casualties was first raised in the aftermath of the 7/7 bombings and security surrounding the British road tanker fleet was subsequently tightened.
The use of petrol tankers as mobile bombs has become an increasingly common and effective tactic in Iraq.
Videos of terrorists preparing lorry bombs and fuel tankers to ram buildings have been shown at terror training camps.
Police and security services are aware that al Qaeda's hallmark is to copy tactics from country to country.
A senior Whitehall source said of the Met operation: "Petrol tanker and chemical lorry bombs are part of a range of terrorist options which are being monitored."
Last year British al Qaeda terrorist Dhiren Barot was jailed for 40 years for plotting a series of atrocities, including a plan to hijack petrol tankers to ram into targets in London.
Detective Superintendent Glyn Jones, who is overseeing the roadblock initiative, said: "These operations are now a regular part of our work. We shift the places where we make the stops. We also use motor-cycle riders to look for lorries in the area to shepherd them to the stop points where they can be thoroughly checked."
The traffic police are using number plate recognition cameras linked to the police national computer to flag up cars used by terrorist suspects or wanted criminals.
