Terrorist Actions

Councillor Phil Bateman said "The terrorism threat that we have in this Country is a very real one."

He added "All of us here in Wednesfield will know people or have family members that are on holiday or are going on holiday. Whilst the inconvenience at our airports are huge. They must be right if they thwart or deter terrorist actions.

I feel that we all have a role to play in deterring terrorism and violence.We must remain vigilant and we must not start to overreact or increase community tensions.There is of course no specific threat to us here in Wolverhampton and the West Midlands. Our Police officers are all briefed however with the need to be alert.

On the morning of the latest swoop on suspected persons, I received this e-mailed message from West Midlands Police. I applaud them for being quick off the mark and keeping elected members in the loop. Explanations are important in these days of heightened concern."


Information from West Midlands Police "This morning two men were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Birmingham.



Both men remain in police custody.



The arrests were part of a nationwide counter-terrorism operation coordinated by the Metropolitan Police Counter-Terrorist Branch.



No member of the public was injured during the arrests and no firearms officers were involved.



While there is no specific threat to the West Midlands, as a precautionary measure and in line with the rest of the country we have an enhanced police presence at Birmingham International Airport.



Our message to the public is to remain calm and vigilant. As normal we would ask for the support and co-operation of the public.



We will keep the public informed of developments in the region. Public safety is our absolute priority.



Metropolitan Police Statement



This was a plan by terrorists to cause untold death and destruction and commit mass murder.



I would want to join the Commissioner who is fully briefed and has been here at New Scotland Yard since early this morning in paying tribute to officers from the Met's Counter -Terrorist Branch and the security services for the work they have undertaken to disrupt these activities.



We believe that the terrorists' aim was to smuggle explosives onto aeroplanes in hand luggage and to detonate these in flight.



We also believe that the intended targets were flights from the UK to the USA.



I can confirm that a significant number people are currently in custody and the operation is ongoing. The majority of those arrests have been in London but we have also made arrests in Thames Valley and Birmingham. We are grateful for the support and assistance of our colleagues across the country. We are currently searching a number of addresses. DAC Peter Clarke Head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch will give further details about this part of the operation later this morning.



As the operation got underway we spoke to community leaders to make them aware that a major anti-terrorist operation was taking place but without giving specific details about locations. Extensive dialogue will continue throughout the operation.



We would like to reassure the public that this operation was carried out with public safety upper most in our minds. This is a major operation, which will inevitably be lengthy and complex. The UK is now at the highest possible level of alert. We will consider the threat in its wider sense and take whatever action is necessary to protect the Country.



Measures have already been put in place to restrict hand luggage taken onto aircraft. This will inevitably cause delay and we ask people for their continued help and patience during these difficult times.



We are looking for the public to remain calm, patient and vigilant, but we cannot stress too highly the severity of the threat this plot presented. This was mass murder on an unimaginable scale."



Councillor Phil Bateman further added "This was a very important anti terrorism action. I am pleased that it was viewed as being successful. I applaud Home Secretary Reid for the way that he has gone about his business. It has been very reassuring to have the actions that have been taken, explained in such a cool and forthright manner. I hope that the public will continue to support the police and the Government in their aims in keeping us all safe."