Cops Hunt for New Suspect

Jul 02, 12:47 PM

Current Headlines: POLICE are said to be hunting for a further suspect today over the failed car bombings in London and Glasgow.

Five people, reportedly including at least one doctor, have already been arrested in connection with the suspected terrorist attacks.

Police have linked an attempt to ram a blazing Jeep Cherokee inside Glasgow Airport on Saturday to the discovery of two car bombs in the capital on Friday.

In response Britain was placed on a 'critical' state of terror alert - the highest possible - meaning an attack is believed to be imminent.

New Home Secretary Jacqui Smith will set out the Government's response to the terrorist threat in Parliament later today.

The two occupants of the Jeep were arrested at the airport, though the driver suffered severe burns after being engulfed in flames and is today a critical condition in Paisley's Royal Alexandra Hospital.

Later on Saturday night antiterror officers arrested a 26year- old man and a 27year-old woman on the M6 near Sandbach in Cheshire.

These two were taken for questioning to a London police station, thought to be Paddington Green.

The man is an Iranian, believed to be Dr Mohammed Asha, who works at at a hospital in Stoke-on-Trent, according to reports.

Scotland Yard refused to comment on reports that at least one suspect was still on the run.

The fifth suspect, a 26-year-old man, was arrested at Liverpool's Lime Street rail station on Saturday night.

There was further drama yesterday when a controlled explosion was carried out on a car at Royal Alexandra Hospital.

The car was believed to be connected to the airport attack but there was "no indication at this time" that it contained explosives, police said.

Police carried out searches yesterday in Newcastle-under-Lyme, north Staffordshire and the village of Houston, near Glasgow Airport.

Neighbours said they believed a house searched in Newcastleunder- Lyme, was rented by a doctor, thought to be married with one young child.

Neighbour Daniel Robinson said: "It's fairly disturbing but at the same time I find it very hard to believe, having met the gentleman, that he's involved in any way in terrorism."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Britain's message to the terrorists must be "we will not yield, we will not be intimidated and we will not allow anyone to undermine our British way of life".

He said it was "clear" the attacks in London and Glasgow were perpetrated by people who were associated with the global Islamist terror network al Qaida.

He urged the public to continue "living their lives as normal" and pledged: "Everything is being done in our power . . . to protect people's lives."

Scotland Yard anti-terror chief Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke appealed for the public's help with the investigation into the car bomb plot.

He said: "In terms of the wider investigation we are learning a great deal about the people who were involved in the attack here in Glasgow and the attempted attacks in central London.

"The links between the three attacks are becoming ever clearer."

Glasgow Airport and Liverpool John Lennon Airport, which was closed on Saturday night while police investigated a suspicious vehicle, both reopened yesterday, although with some delays and cancellations.

The rest of Britain's airports will stay open until further notice, although police patrols have been stepped up at each and most have roads leading to the terminal buildings blocked off to the public.

The green Jeep, registration L808 RDT, was driven into the main doors of Glasgow Airport at about 3.15pm on Saturday before bursting into flames.

The attack followed the discovery of two cars loaded with explosives in London on Friday.

The first, a Mercedes packed with a deadly cargo of petrol, gas canisters and nails, was found by paramedics called to the Tiger Tiger nightclub shortly before 2am after a person was taken ill.

The ambulance crew spotted smoke inside the car and immediately called police.

Sources suggested one of the first officers on the scene averted disaster by disconnecting a mobile phone in the car which "may have been used to trigger the explosion.

The second car, also a Mercedes, was issued with a parking ticket in Cockspur Street, yards from the first vehicle, at about 2.30am.

It was taken to a car pound where workers became suspicious of the vehicle. They later contacted authorities.

US president George Bush has praised Mr Brown's "strong response" to the terrorist attacks in London and Scotland, saying: "It just goes to show the war against these extremists goes on.

"You never know where they may try to strike.

"I appreciate the very strong response that the Gordon Brown government has given."

(c) 2007 Evening Times; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.