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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| More plane terror plots 'likely' | More plane terror plots 'likely' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| Al-Qaeda is likely to try again to use aircraft to attack the West, Whitehall officials have told the BBC. | Al-Qaeda is likely to try again to use aircraft to attack the West, Whitehall officials have told the BBC. |
| Security correspondent Frank Gardner said they believed the airline bomb plot was part of al-Qaeda's "obsession" with using commercial airliners. | Security correspondent Frank Gardner said they believed the airline bomb plot was part of al-Qaeda's "obsession" with using commercial airliners. |
| The warning comes after three British men were convicted of plotting to blow up flights from London to North America using bombs disguised as soft drinks. | The warning comes after three British men were convicted of plotting to blow up flights from London to North America using bombs disguised as soft drinks. |
| Defence expert Michael Clarke agreed that al-Qaeda was "still plotting". | Defence expert Michael Clarke agreed that al-Qaeda was "still plotting". |
| On Monday, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 29, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court after the UK's largest ever counter-terrorism operation. | On Monday, Abdulla Ahmed Ali, 28, Tanvir Hussain, 28, and Assad Sarwar, 29, were found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court after the UK's largest ever counter-terrorism operation. |
| Their arrests in 2006 changed the face of air travel, prompting the introduction of restrictions on the carriage of liquids. | Their arrests in 2006 changed the face of air travel, prompting the introduction of restrictions on the carriage of liquids. |
| UK intelligence officers believe the plot was directed by al-Qaeda figures in Pakistan, including a British man - Rashid Rauf - from Birmingham, now thought to be dead. | UK intelligence officers believe the plot was directed by al-Qaeda figures in Pakistan, including a British man - Rashid Rauf - from Birmingham, now thought to be dead. |
| 'Close thing' | 'Close thing' |
| We moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great John McDowellMetropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/8242479.stm">Liquid bomb plot: What happened class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/8193501.stm">Airlines bomb plot: The e-mails class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/7604808.stm">Profiles: Airline plot accused | |
| Prof Clarke, director of defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that al-Qaeda was more "marginalised" now than in the past, but still posed a threat to the West. | Prof Clarke, director of defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that al-Qaeda was more "marginalised" now than in the past, but still posed a threat to the West. |
| "There's no doubt there are people in the tribal areas on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have tried these plots," he said. | "There's no doubt there are people in the tribal areas on the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan who have tried these plots," he said. |
| "There were four or five big plots and they've all come to light in the UK. They haven't worked, but they're still plotting." | "There were four or five big plots and they've all come to light in the UK. They haven't worked, but they're still plotting." |
| Earlier, John McDowell, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said security staff and police were racing against time when they foiled the plot. | Earlier, John McDowell, head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, said security staff and police were racing against time when they foiled the plot. |
| He told the BBC the arrest of the men was "a relatively close thing". | He told the BBC the arrest of the men was "a relatively close thing". |
| "It's always a balancing act to try to acquire the necessary evidence while at the same time ensuring that public safety is your most important consideration," he said. | "It's always a balancing act to try to acquire the necessary evidence while at the same time ensuring that public safety is your most important consideration," he said. |
| "So, we ran this as long as we could run it as a covert, proactive operation and we moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great." | "So, we ran this as long as we could run it as a covert, proactive operation and we moved in at the time that we felt that the risks were too great." |
| The operation also had to be speeded up after alleged US pressure led to the arrest of Rauf in 2006. | The operation also had to be speeded up after alleged US pressure led to the arrest of Rauf in 2006. |
| Former US security chief Michael Chertoff's reaction | |
| 'Our UK 9/11' | |
| Michael Chertoff, former US Homeland Securities Secretary, said Rauf "was the individual involved in essentially supervising the plot, although he was not someone who was going to take part in the actual attack itself". | Michael Chertoff, former US Homeland Securities Secretary, said Rauf "was the individual involved in essentially supervising the plot, although he was not someone who was going to take part in the actual attack itself". |
| Scotland Yard's former head of specialist operations, Andy Hayman, said securing the arrests from a "standing start" after Rauf's arrest was a "very difficult challenge". | |
| He told the BBC: "We couldn't gamble with the prospect that if the cell we were watching was alerted by that arrest, then all the things we'd built up along with other colleagues from the security services would have been lost potentially." | |
| Mr Hayman also said he believed they foiled "our UK 9/11". | |
| At the time of his arrest, ringleader Ahmed Ali had identified seven US and Canada-bound flights to be blown up over the Atlantic within a two-and-a-half-hour period. | At the time of his arrest, ringleader Ahmed Ali had identified seven US and Canada-bound flights to be blown up over the Atlantic within a two-and-a-half-hour period. |
| In a jihadist suicide video, he warned the British public to expect "floods of martyr operations" which would leave body parts scattered in the streets. | |
Airline terror plot: The evidence | Airline terror plot: The evidence |
| All three were found guilty in an earlier trial of conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs - but that jury could not decide whether their plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. | All three were found guilty in an earlier trial of conspiracy to murder involving liquid bombs - but that jury could not decide whether their plans extended to detonating the devices on planes. |
| Now a second jury has decided that such a terror plot did exist. | Now a second jury has decided that such a terror plot did exist. |
| Donald Stewart-Whyte (not shown) was cleared of all charges.--> BACK{current} of {total}NEXTÂ | Donald Stewart-Whyte (not shown) was cleared of all charges.--> BACK{current} of {total}NEXTÂ |