U.K. police defuse explosive device
Bomb discovered in car could have caused 'significant damage,' official says
June 29, 2007
LONDON - British police defused a bomb found in a parked car in central London on Friday, and the new government called an emergency meeting of senior security chiefs to investigate what many feared could have been a planned terror attack in the capital.
The vehicle packed with explosives, gas canisters and nuts and bolts would have caused "significant damage," a British security official told The Associated Press Friday.
"Forensic staff are still examining the device, but once we know more about it, we'll know more about what type of individuals are behind this," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security details.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who took office on Wednesday, said the incident was a reminder that Britain faces “a serious and continuous threat” and the “need to be alert.”
“I will stress to the Cabinet that the vigilance must be maintained over the next few days,” Brown said.
The incident comes a week before the second anniversary of the July 7 London bombings, when four British Muslim suicide bombers killed themselves and 52 bus and subway passengers.
For more than a year, the government has held the country’s terrorist threat level at severe — which means a terrorist attack is highly likely.
Mercedes crashed in theater district
Officers were called to The Haymarket shortly before 2 a.m., a police statement said.
Sky News cited witnesses as saying doormen from a nearby nightclub had reported that someone had crashed a Mercedes sedan into garbage bins and ran away.
The Haymarket is the site of restaurants, bars, a cinema complex and, most famously, theaters. On a Thursday night, the area would have been buzzing with crowds of people. The broad street links Piccadilly Circus in the north to the Pall Mall at its southern end.
Forensic officers in white suits examined a silver sedan and had placed a blue tent-like cover over the rear of the vehicle, which was parked outside an American Express foreign exchange office. The car was later moved for further examination.
Sky News broadcast a photograph of the vehicle taken early in the morning, showing a green canister beside the car and the backseat door open with blankets spilling out.
The area around the vehicle was cordoned off as a precaution on Friday morning. London transport officials said the Piccadilly Circus underground train station was closed.
