Police raids target 'terror plot' in UK

almost certainly crap....

it seems like these dramatic rescues from our heroic security foces happen on cue when the news is quiete....

everyone needs an enemy....

now that the IRA have won in NI, we need a new foe...

same "intellegence" that assured us that saddam was gonna blitz us within 45 mins...

the demonic plans seem to be thwarted every few months...

more reliable that the bus timtable :x

where would we b without james bond and the heros from MI5??? :roll:

the dastardly plots get ever more outlandlish by the month....

i'll believe it when i see the "culprits" charged and up in front of a judge....

dont believe everything u read................ :wink:

POWER TO THE PEOPLE!

don't know nowt yet, so I will refrain from making any judgements.

However if it is correct, how sick do you have to be to kidnap someone, record video's and execute the individual?

pretty despicable.

But then again it could all just be the latest storm in a teacup where the people are quietly released without charge a few weeks after the media storm has moved onto a new topic.

After all no one has even been charged of the 7 July bombings yet.

its almost certainly cobblers

just like the plan to blow up old trafford...

LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL......

i'd fully support any plan to screw up man u!!

i dont believe a single word the "intelligence community" say....

there is only 3 options when it comes to our heroic MI5

1) they are incompetent

2) they are liars

3) they are incompetent liars...

personally i'd go with option 3....

duno if its true or not but it has been dramatised no need for that. the sad part is if it turns out these ppl are innocent it wont make an iota of difference coz the press has already hung them out to dry, ppl are fearful they will see these men as guilty no matter what the verdict is.

if it turns out to be true and these are british bred muslims it would even scare me. what is feeding the imagination of these muslims if it actually is true. kidnappings and decapitations are the norm in the middle east and other war zones. its alien to the culture over here, its quite frightening to think ur local neighbour had such thghts or plans. :?

yashmakiduno if its true or not but it has been dramatised no need for that. the sad part is if it turns out these ppl are innocent it wont make an iota of difference coz the press has already hung them out to dry, ppl are fearful they will see these men as guilty no matter what the verdict is.

if it turns out to be true and these are british bred muslims it would even scare me. what is feeding the imagination of these muslims if it actually is true. kidnappings and decapitations are the norm in the middle east and other war zones. its alien to the culture over here, its quite frightening to think ur local neighbour had such thghts or plans. :?

its like 9/11. 7/7 all over again but worst if it turns out to be true and british muslims are found guilty...

the question u have to ask urself IF this turns out to be true is:

1. what MUSLIM can even think of doing such a thing?
2. who brainwashes them? exactly which imams/preachers/ leaders etc?
3. are they acting along or part of a group/jamaat?
4. does that mean there ar emany more of them out there?

the reality is that there are alot of muslims out there who hate the west, blame them for everything, who love ladin, openly sympathise with al qaeeda, say 9/11 is conspiracy, try to justify 7/7, look up to crackpot imams like abu hamza, bakri, who even justify suiicde attacks in west as martydom operations etc....
minority believe in ALL the above but alot believe in most of the above which is scary...

so where has it all gone wrong?

Beast and other Brummies...

whats the atmosphere like there?
people going about normal business? are they angry or scared?
are they co-operating with police?
any al muhajiloonies come down to stir usual chaos?

TheRevivalEditorBeast and other Brummies...

whats the atmosphere like there?
people going about normal business? are they angry or scared?
are they co-operating with police?
any al muhajiloonies come down to stir usual chaos?

Not my part of Birmingham.

However, I think this man has hit the nail on the head:

Shabir Hussain, chairman of the Ludlow Road Mosque, near to the house in Jackson Road, Alum Rock, which was targeted by police, said such raids were causing unease among local families.

He said: "People don’t trust their own children any more. It’s causing difficulties inside families.

"You feel like you should challenge your son or daughter: ‘Where are you going at night? What are you watching on TV? What are you doing on the internet?’

- link

I've been going through today's (Thursday) papers.

Today's frontpages:

Yesterday, West Midlands Police told the media not to speculate about the 9 arrests in Birmingham. In a press statement they said that is "unhelpful of the media and potentially damaging to the investigation or any future court cases to speculate on the details of this investigation."

However the frontpage of today's Times is full of just such speculation. The frontpage has a picture of Ken Bigley and an accompanying story continues on page 2.

The main frontpage headline uses speech marks (Muslim soldiers 'faced kidnap and beheading'). One of two subheadlines also uses speech marks (British Muslims working for police and Civil Service 'targeted as collaborators').

Apart from the use of quotation marks the frontpage section of the main story has six instances of non-commital speculatory statements:
"alleged plot to kidnap..."
"allegedly drawn up a hitlist..."
"believed to have narrowed their choice to [...] three men..."
"understood to be in protective custody..."
"would have been filmed..."
"was allegedly to be paraded in an orange boiler suit..."

And all this in the 4 little columns under the dominating picture.

There are only two pieces of factual information in the Times' frontpage story of 1/2/07. They are, word for word:
"Nine men held in police raids across Birmingham after six-month operation."
"six-month intelligence operation culminated in a series of pre-dawn raids in Birmingham invloving 700 police."

The story continues onto page 2 where the speculation also continues:
"alleged plan was to..."
"Like ken Bigley [...] the hostage was to be paraded..."
"The plan was to be carried out within 72 hours..."
"The intention was to..."
"Muslims would have been..."
"The group allegedly spent months..."
"said to have..."
"police believe the kidnappers were planning to abduct Muslim civil servants..."
"This would have been..."
"plot could indicate..."
"The suspected plotters may have believed that..."
"It is understood that..."
"alleged kidnappers appeared to be..."
"The suspects are believed to have..."

Factual information eventually appears in the last four paragraphs of the thirteen paragraph story.

The speculation continues in the Express and the Daily Mail. But here it is a little more brazen. No quotation marks for "up-market tabloids" thankyou very much. Frontpage headlines in both papers go all out and make the seemingly factual statements that 'Al Qaeda was behind plot to behead soldiers' (Daily Mail) and there was a 'Plot to behead soldier here in Britain.' However both papers offer no evidence - just what unnamed sources told them.

The Daily Express uses the following speculatory primers:
[list]page 1
"it was feared..."
"suspected plan was to..."
"thought to be most likely..."
"It is thought...[/list:u][list]page 4
"alleged conspiracy..."
"it is believed..."
"said to have rehearsed..."
"believed to have..."
"also believed to have..."
"It is understood..."
"would have been..."
"If this is true..."[/list:u]
[list]page 5
"alleged plot would have been..."[/list:u]
[list](and for good measure) the editorial
"The thought of..."
"Whether or not..."
"alleged to have been..."
"said to have been..."[/list:u]

The Daily Mail does the same:
[list]page 1
"alleged plot..."
"would have been..."
"would have caused..."
"alleged plot..."[/list:u]
[list]page 5
"it is quite possible they would have..." (most speculatory one I've read so far)
"could have been..."
"understood to be..."
"It is understood that..."
"It is believed..."[/list:u]
[list]page 6
"alleged kidnap..."
"would have been..."
"alleged kidnap..."
"would have used..."
"it is believed..."
"alleged plot..."
"if police suspicions over the alleged plot are well founded..."
"alleged plot..."
"alleged plot may have been foiled..."[/list:u]

One page 7 of the Mail there is sympathetic piece outlining some of the things that friends and neigbours have said about the arrested men. Reporter Paul Harris describes the difficult generation gaps that exist within Birmingham's Muslim community and the resentment and anger felt by young Asians. A cousin of an arrested man describes a "peace-loving family person". Another man is described as a hardworking son who's mother is now at home crying. The report talks of a cultural and racial mix in an anonymous urban environment. The arrested men are everywhere referred to as quiet people who kept themselves to themselves. However just before finishing the piece, Mr Harris remembers he is writing for the Daily Mail and says "Sadly, it is this very anonymity which has provided shelter for evil."

The most striking and to-the-point frontpage headline from today's press was in the Mirror - "Behead a Hero."

In the sub-headline the word plot is in speech marks. But it is not in speech marks in the first para of the frontpage story. A plot to kidnap and behead a British soldier is presented as fact. The only qualification on the frontapage, apart from 'plot', is that the plotters were allegedly days away from carrying out their plan - not that the plan itself is only an allegation.

Page 4 has a half-page headline: They Were Planning a 'Ken Bigley'. The only mention of ken Bigley in the accompanying story however comes from an unnamed "senior source". This uncorroborated information from a single source doesn't prevent the Mirror from putting in a picture of Ken Bigley.

Parts of the Mirror's page 4 report could possibly have been lifted from the Times. Consider the following:
[list]Mirror
"The terror gang are said to have been planning to carry out the kidnap, torture and murder in the space of just 72 hours, to evade the intense police investigation that would follow."[/list:u]
[list]Times (page 2)
"The plan was to be carried out within 72 hours because the plotters knew the kidnapping would result in an intense police search, security sources said."[/list:u]Or maybe they just spoke to the same unnamed spook.

Page 6 of the Mirror has a pic of a woman in a veil. Other national papers to feature pics of women in veils to accompany the "British soldier kidnapping and beheading plot" story are Daily Mail, Express, Telegraph and Sun.

However, the story on page 4 is a piece by Roy Hatersley about the need to be cautious and remember that no-one has been charged. he warns of the dangers of govs crying wolf and says that extremists are oddballs and dropouts from the Muslim community. The editorial is similarly cautious. It reminds us that a man was shot in Forrest Gate and that cool heads need to prevail.

Speculatory language in the Mirror is less than half of what it is in the Times, Mail and Express:
[list]page 4
"beheading plot gang..."
"allegedly plotted..."
"it was planned to..."
"are said to have been..."
"police believe..."
"alleged target..."
"if this alleged plan..."[/list:u]

Following the arrests of 9 men in Birmingham on Wednesday morning West Midlands Police told the media not to engage in speculation. They said that it is "unhelpful of the media and potentially damaging to the investigation or any future court cases to speculate on the details of this investigation." However the Sun took no heed.

I tell a lie... the Sun did take heed - it presented everything as fact, not speculation. No qualifications appeared on its frontpage of 1/2/07 which featured an image from the execution video of Nick Berg. A terror gang did plan to kidnap a British Muslim soldier. They did plan to behead him. And they did plan to show the execution on the web. No need for a trial. The Sun's got this one in the bag.

Defence editor Tom Newton Dunn elucidated further. Two people are on the run. The execution was to have taken place in Tipton (of all places). Two soldiers were being targeted. After several paragraphs of Sun-style "facts", in the bottom left hand corner of page 6 doubt creeps in: "the plot was said to have been at an "advanced stage."" Further on, "the plot is understood to have been..." and "it is not known whether..."

Towards the end Mr Dunn quotes West Mids assistant chief constable David Shaw in two and a half paragraphs. However there is no space to mention that assistant chief constable Shaw had also said "my professional judgement as the officer in charge of the operation is that some of the speculation has been unhelpful and is potentially damaging to the criminal investigation."

The Telegraph's headline reads "Beheading plot: security stepped up for Muslim soldiers". The headline gives no indication towards the fact this the plot is being alleged by unnamed sources and has no official credence whatsoever.

The frontapge has a few instances of speculatory language:
"allegedly foiled..."
"allegedly planned..."
"might be targets..."
"suspected plot is said to have..."
"alleged plotters..."
"alleged plotters..."
Page 2:
"alleged plot..."
"would have been..."
"If this proves to be accurate..."

On page 5 Philip Johnston offers some commentary. He cites some previous comments by Dame Manningham-Buller as an intro to his piece but fails to provide any coroboration for his take on the "plot" apart from saying once "police said".

The Guardian's frontpage story on the Birmingham raids is split into roughly half. Half the story talks about the men arrested and the raids and the other half is devoted to ellucidating on the speculation. The phrase "alleged to have been" is used three times on the frontpage.

Page 4 of the Guardian has two stories about the arrests and raids. Page 5 however has two stories about the unfounded unnamed source-inspired "plot". One story is given over to giving a potted history of the beheading and videotaping terror technique. In a story about the alleged victim the following speculatory words and phrases are employed:
"alleged..."
"thought to have..."
"allegedley..."
"was to have been..."
"would have been..."
Even though it quotes assistant chief constable Shaw as saying that speculation was unhelpful, the Guardian speculates anyway.

The absence of this story from the Independent's frontpage is not a sign that it is not joining with the speculation-fest.
[list]page 4
"suspected plot..."
"alleged plan..."
"alleged plot, if proven..."
"thought to be a..."
"alleged plot..."
"Details [...] still unclear..."
"alleged conspiracy..."
"alleged plot..."
"would have been..."[/list:u]
On page 5 Professor Paul Wilkinson from St Andrews university joins in with his take on the "plot".

Beast,

IMHO that was a silly exercise. By discouraging speculation West Midlands Police are not trying to discourage reporting that the police responded to an alleged plot. The more obvious meaning is that the media should refrain from speculating as to the involvement of those arrested. Otherwise officials would not have released information about a plot. It is standard to refer to claims that have not been verified in court as "alleged" and you are misguided to suggest use of the term while reporting the police's allegations is an exercise in speculation. Only in reference to the Daily Mail report have you cited anything that necessarily amounts to what the police are describing as speculation, which is to say speculation about the suspects, and even that is not particularly specific to the arrested men. You describe the plot as having been alleged by unnamed sources, as if that is true of the media's sources, but whether or not the allegations bear out the newspapers are blatantly correct to ascribe what information they have to the police and to employ best practise by describing it as "alleged". You might say I am being speculative but if you think about it, this is common sense.

Mr Honey's Day OutBy discouraging speculation West Midlands Police are not trying to discourage reporting that the police responded to an alleged plot.

And where did I say that the press or media at large are wrong in reporting that police responded?

Otherwise officials would not have released information about a plot.

What info about a plot was released through official channels?

It is standard to refer to claims that have not been verified in court as "alleged" and you are misguided to suggest use of the term while reporting the police's allegations is an exercise in speculation.

"Alleged" can be used when referring to someone against whom an allegation has been made. The arrested men are suspects. They are suspected to have engaged in activities falling under the remit of the Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit. If police have made official allegations against the men then please do tell.

Even if we accept the use of the word "alleged" as valid, it was used in many instances as primer to speculation:
Guardian frontpage - "members of the group are alleged to have been preparing to film the kidnap victim as he begged for mercy before being murdered, and were then planning to post the footage on the web." The Guardian then has a further two stories about the "plot" alone on page 5.
Times frontpage - "the hostage was allegedly to be paraded in an orange jump suit." A dominating picture of Ken Bigley in such an orange boiler suit is also on the frontpage.
Express page 5 - "alleged plot would have been a chilling mirror of how Briton Ken Bigley was kidnapped and beheaded in Iraq." And so begins a nine para story devoted just to this.

Only in reference to the Daily Mail report have you cited anything that necessarily amounts to what the police are describing as speculation, which is to say speculation about the suspects, and even that is not particularly specific to the arrested men.

Police, in an official statement, said that it was "unhelpful of the media and potentially damaging to the investigation or any future court cases to speculate on the details of this investigation." To say things such as the following is speculating about the details of the investigation:
"The plan was to be carried out within 72 hours because the plotters knew the kidnapping would result in an intense police search, security sources said." Times
"We'll behead him in Tipton". Sun
"They are also believed to have visited London and gone on an adventure-style "bonding" holiday in Wales." Express

You describe the plot as having been alleged by unnamed sources, as if that is true of the media's sources, but whether or not the allegations bear out the newspapers are blatantly correct to ascribe what information they have to the police and to employ best practise by describing it as "alleged".

Isn't it best practice to focus on facts and allow speculation and rumour to be confined to one or at most two paragraphs. Is it professional or even sensible to fill a page with the following phrases:
"alleged kidnap..."
"would have been..."
"alleged kidnap..."
"would have used..."
"it is believed..."
"alleged plot..."
"if police suspicions over the alleged plot are well founded..."
"alleged plot..."
"alleged plot may have been foiled..."
(page 6 Daily Mail)
Do you expect any factual statements to have followed from these primers?

You might say I am being speculative but if you think about it, this is common sense.

Consider the following two stories:

First story - adapted from BBC

Nine people have been arrested in Birmingham under anti-terrorism legislation.

Eight men were arrested following a series of morning raids. Police made the ninth arrest this afternoon on a motorway in the city area.

Police said their investigation may take “days, if not weeks”.

A total of 12 addresses in the Sparkhill, Washwood Heath, Kingstanding and Edgbaston areas have been sealed off and are being searched following raids at about 0400 GMT, say police.

Eight men were arrested at separate addresses and are being held at a West Midlands police station.

‘Dynamic operation’

In a press conference at about 1530 GMT, Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw, of West Midlands Police, said the ninth arrest had been made just minutes earlier.

“I think that illustrates to you that this remains a dynamic, fluid operation and this is by no means finished,” he said.

The search of all the premises would take “some days” to complete, he added.

He said police were at “the foothills of what is a very, very major investigation for us” and officers were actively seeking help from the community, in particular from Muslims.

Community advice lines in a range of languages were being set up and 5,000 leaflets will be distributed to local people, he added.

“We think is it is critical that we involve them in what is going on as much as we can,” he said.

Muslim community leader Shabir Hussain said the community should co-operate with the police and remain vigilant of unusual activity in their homes.

“The community is under stress,” he said.

“They do not know where their children are, they do not know what they do. At the mosque we are saying ‘open your eyes, look underneath your feet’.”

Unnamed sources have been briefing the media throughout the day that the aim of the alleged plot was to kidnap serving members of the armed forces, perhaps while they were on home leave.

He stressed the arrests were based on intelligence, which could prove to be wrong.

The Ministry of Defence said it could not confirm or deny reports of such a plot.

Two houses and a general store in Alum Rock, near Washwood Heath, were raided.

The Maktabah book store in Stratford Road, Sparkhill, which is believed to sell Islamic literature, was also raided.

‘Anger and cynicism’

Police have cordoned off roads around Jackson Road and Foxton Road, in Alum Rock, and Poplar Road and Stratford Road, in Sparkhill.

The BBC’s Phil Mackie said there had been some anger and cynicism among locals who had witnessed previous terror raids in the area without anyone being charged.

Baswant Kant, who lives in Stratford Road, near the junction with Poplar Road, said about 55 police officers “turned up in white vans” in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“They went into shops and restaurants along the road - a lot of people got arrested,” he said.

Saqib Hussain, of Sparkhill, said he had visited the raided book shop many times and “had never seen any suspicions of terrorist activity”.

Mohamed Barber told BBC News his cousin was one of the men arrested in Alum Rock.

“We can vouch for him he is innocent. He doesn’t even have time to go to Friday prayers - that’s how busy he is,” he added.

If any of those arrested turn out to be innocent, this should be made clear
Ayub Pervaz, mosque president

Abdul Ghaffoor, a regular shopper at the general store, said he had never heard politics being discussed in the shop.

Leaders at the Alum Rock Islamic Centre, the main mosque in the area, said the community was shocked at events, but urged calm and appealed to people to co-operate with the police investigation.

Ayub Pervaz, the mosque’s president, said: “If people have broken the law they should be brought to justice.

“But we also appeal for no trial by media. If any of those arrested turn out to be innocent, this should be made clear.”

The eight arrested following the morning raids are suspected of “the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism”.

Home Secretary John Reid urged restraint and described it as a “major operation”.

The Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit ran the operation with the West Midlands Police, the Metropolitan Police and MI5.

Second story, from the Sun

TWO terror suspects were on the run last night after armed cops dramatically smashed a horrific plot to behead a British soldier — in Tipton.

The bloodthirsty scheme — to kidnap, torture and murder a squaddie — would have seen the sick “execution” in the Black Country town broadcast live to the world on the internet.

Hate-filled extremists were said to have been just “days away” from seizing their target — a fellow Muslim — when police swooped at 4am.

Eight suspected members of the Birmingham-based gang were held in raids on 12 addresses across the city. A ninth was arrested 11 hours later on a Midlands motorway.

Last night police were desperately hunting two other Asian men who managed to escape.

The Sun can reveal the alleged plotters, who aimed to grab their victim off the street, had TWO Muslim soldiers in their sights.

One — regarded as their prime target — is a military intelligence corporal who has recently returned from service in Iraq.

Both were last night under armed guard. They were whisked to a safe location under the direction of the MoD’s Counter Terrorism and UK Operations Department as the raids went down.

The Sun can also reveal that the swoops came after a suspect was spotted buying a video camera from a local electronics store at the weekend.

It was feared the camera would be used to record the hostage while he was held captive — and then show his execution.

The kidnapped soldier was to have been taken to a secret address nine miles from Birmingham — in the town infamous as the home of the Tipton Taliban.

He would have been held for days or weeks as the gang of fanatics — inspired by al-Qaeda — made increasingly outrageous demands.

Finally he was to have been murdered in a chilling re-run of what happened to Briton Ken Bigley — kidnapped in Iraq in 2004. The Liverpool-born engineer was held for three weeks before being beheaded.

The terrorists planned to screen the squaddie’s death on the web — like the sick video posted in May 2004 of US contractor Nick Berg being beheaded.

A senior security source said last night: “The terrorists were going to take the man hostage and keep him in a safe house which had already been prepared.

“The soldier was going to be filmed while blindfolded and handcuffed and a demand made for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

“When time ran out, they were going to execute the man and post it on the internet.

“On the face of it, this group were planning to make another protest about Iraq. But the reality is they wanted to send a message to the vast majority of law-abiding Muslims here.

“It was also aimed at Muslim police officers and anyone else seen to be a part of the Establishment.”

The gang’s plot was said to have been at an “advanced stage”. But sources said the police had been on to it for up to six months in a huge surveillance operation.

Yesterday’s operation was led by West Midlands Police with key technical advice from MI5 and MI6. Britain’s spy service was last night probing suspected links with international terror groups in Pakistan.

Tipton hit headlines around the world in 2001 when three young Asians from the district were discovered fighting with Taliban forces in Afghanistan. Dubbed the Tipton Taliban they were held at Guantanamo Bay before being released — but are still under 24-hour surveillance.

Yesterday airline flights over parts of Birmingham were restricted — so a spy plane could help hunt for the two escaped suspects. It circled the city monitoring mobile phone and computer traffic.

The early-morning swoops took place in the Asian-populated suburbs of Sparkhill, Alum Rock, Sparkbrook and Washwood Heath.

Among the addresses targeted were two Islamic bookshops — one raided several times in recent years. Police also swooped on an Asian grocery store and an internet café — where computers, hard drives and software were seized.

The plot is understood to have been uncovered when MI5 agents intercepted coded emails and mobile phone calls.

Last night the suspects were being quizzed at separate police stations in the West Midlands.

It is not known whether police have uncovered the exact address of the intended “execution house” in Tipton. But a police helicopter circled several large housing estates in the town for nearly 30 minutes yesterday afternoon taking aerial photographs.

West Midlands police assistant chief constable David Shaw said: “This remains a dynamic, fluid operation which is by no means finished. It is the culmination of many months of activity and meticulous planning.

“I am confident we have taken the right action. We are at the foothill of a major investigation which is proceeding very slowly as we prepare the best possible case that will allow us to bring prosecutions where necessary. The threat of terrorism remains very real.

“This action is an indication of how confident people can be that the police are doing as much as they can to counteract terrorism.” Despite a major drive to recruit more Muslims there are still only 250 serving in the Army — with a further 80 split between the Royal Navy and the RAF.

Yesterday the brother of a hero British Muslim soldier killed on duty six months ago blasted the terror plot. Zeehsam Hashmi, 27 — whose brother Jabron, 24, died in Afghanistan — said: “There is no justification for abduction and murder in Islam.”

Zeehsam, himself a former soldier, stressed: “It’s really important to remember that it’s only a tiny element in the Muslim community that would think about doing this.”

1) How is the first story deficient?

2) How is the second story common sense, non-speculative and employing best practice?

Have to agree with the above - the police would be too 'scared' to come out and say what exactly they are investigating, until their enquiries were complete - in case they got it wrong. This leaves the journalists (usually the tabloids - but most of them in this case) with 2 choices about what they publish - 1, report that they cant provide further information until the investigation is complete, or 2, sensationalise a story - perhaps partly made up, to sell newspapers. They will always go with option 2 - no matter what the truth is....

I love how the London Times has the arrogance to call itself "the Times."

For anyone who's interested, I've collated my newspaper reviews on a blog.

http://sillyexercise.blogspot.com/

ØI love how the London Times has the arrogance to call itself "the Times."

Assuming you're serious, in 1785 The Daily Universal Register was founded, and its name was changed to The Times in 1788. The New York Times was founded in 1851 as The New-York (sic) Daily Times and changed its name to The New York Times in 1857. I remember it well. No paper was ever called The London Times although Americans use that name to distinguish the two.

Take that you Ameeerikaaan Infidel!

The press has been busy over the last few days telling us about beheadings, orange jumpsuits, execution houses in Tipton, hitlists and such. All their information is, of course, coming from unnamed sources. However, we’ve been here before. I remember reading about unnamed sources and their warnings about suicide vests and bomb factories six months ago…

The Metropolitan Police’s 2nd June 2006 raid on an address in Forest Gate, East London, provided the press with enough material with which to implant fear and suspicion in their readers just a day after the raid was launched.

The raid was carried out on the basis of "specific intelligence" from a sole untested source that the police said they wanted to "prove or disprove" (Telegraph 3/6/06 page 4). However, police were unwilling to talk about the specifics of the case but the Health Protection Agency provided assurances that the threat to the public was very low. The Independent pointed out that "no neighbours were evacuated" (Independent 3/6/06 page 5). Furthermore, police had found no "weapons, chemicals or evidence of a planned attack" (Daily Mail 3/6/06 page 4).

But the papers were unrepentant in warning the public of a "'suicide vest' which would pump out poisonous gas" (Mail page 1) and planting fears that "a bomb containing poisonous chemicals may be in the hands of Islamic fanatics elsewhere in the capital" (Daily Express 3/6/06 page 1). The Times went to the trouble of splashing an arty picture of a man in a suicide vest on its front page. Express readers were treated to a smaller picture of a "martyr's vest" on page 4.

On its front page the Guardian wrote that there were fears that "an attack on a British target using an unconventional weapon could be staged soon" (Guardian 3/6/06 page 1). It was only on the inside pages that it pointed out that, in fact, there was no intelligence on a specific target and that the threat level remained static (Guardian page 5). Other papers were more specific and less reserved in inciting fear. The tabloids expounded on possible targets where the, as yet not charged, men may have deployed their, as yet not found, chemical/gas bomb/vest. The Express predicted that it was "likely the plotters were aiming to attack a Tube train in a chilling repeat of the July 7 atrocities" (Express page 4). "A pub crowded for a World Cup game" (Mail page 1) and a "crowded shopping centre" (Express page 4) were also among the targets revealed by the Sun (quoting a "senior security source"), Mirror, Mail, Express and Times.

The Mirror and the Mail were careful to put quotation marks around their alarmist front page headlines: "HUNT FOR THE 'POISON BOMB'" (Mail), "HUNT FOR 'POISON BOMB'" (Mirror). But the Sun and Express convinced themselves, despite the evidence, that a bomb actually existed. An unnamed "senior security source" assured the Sun that it was "absolutely certain this device exists" (Sun 3/6/06 page 4). The Express, however, was unwilling to divulge why it was assured of the existence of a bomb. It remains to seen whether the Sun's unnamed "senior security source" is the same as the one who encouraged reporters to speculate on probable targets.

The Times and Express editorials expressed dismay that the Independent Police Complaints Commission was given access to the address after one of the occupants was shot.

The Independent asserted that suggestions that the raided house "was being used as a bomb-making factory were discounted" (Independent page 5). But the Times was adamant that it was a "suspected weapons factory" (Times 3/6/06 page 1), the Mirror called it a "suspected poison bomb factory" (Mirror 3/6/06 page 7) and the Express went with the less industrial "bombers lair" (Express page 4).

Despite the fact that police were not searching for anyone else in connection with the Landsdown Road raid and that the existence of a bomb or device was as yet unproven, the Sun's opening paragraph on its front page read, "cops were last night frantically hunting terrorists armed with a lethal chemical bomb" (Sun page 1). The Sun's "Security Advisor and SAS hero", Andy McNab, had two questions for the suspects which needed to be extracted from them "any way possible" (Sun page 5). "First, where is the device? Second, what did they plan to do with it?" Ominously absent was the question, "does the device exist?"

The Times reminded its readers that it had only been two weeks since that police in Manchester and Merseyside arrested eight men in connection with al-Qaeda activities. It failed to mention, however, that two of the three men arrested by Greater Manchester police had been released without charge and that the other man was being held under immigration laws (Guardian page 5). The Express' editorial wandered how many terrorist suspects could be deported (Express page 16).

The Sun revealed that one of the men, Kahar Kalam, regularly used a local internet café. Still more shocking was the Sun's revelation that he visited it "at least once a week, spending an hour at a time at a computer terminal" (Sun page 4).

Local residents were asked to describe the arrested men. A relative of the men told the Express that one of the men "works long shifts for Royal Mail" (Express page 4). The other man was described as a "straightforward guy" (Express page 4). The Telegraph was told by a friend of the men that "we are British born and we treat this country with respect" (Telegraph page 4). But the Times seemed to warn readers against taking these descriptions as evidence that the men were innocent until proven guilty: "Today's terrorists are suburban men who neighbours invariably describe as 'hard working, respectable and British to the core'" (Times page 7).

Neighbours' portrayals of the men as "deeply religious, praying five times a day" (Sun page 4) caused the Express to right a 'love it or leave it' editorial. Going off comments about the religious devoutness of the arrested men, the Express opined "those who feel blind loyalty to Islam and none whatever to Britain should go and live in an Islamic country and leave the rest of us in peace" (Express page 16).

The brothers were subsequently released without charge and completely vindicated on all allegations made against them in the press. However, the same speculation and misreporting is now being made about the men arrested in Birmingham.

The above article is now up on the MPACUK homepage.

http://www.mpacuk.org/content/view/3345/34/

Yay!!

ßeastFor anyone who's interested, I've collated my newspaper reviews on a blog.

http://sillyexercise.blogspot.com/

thank you, makes life easier for some of us. 🙂

have you ever considered becoming a journalist irfan? you've probably heard this a million times BUT i'm gonna go ahead and say it anyway: we need more Muslims in the media!! 😃

*DUST*

ßeastFor anyone who's interested, I've collated my newspaper reviews on a blog.

http://sillyexercise.blogspot.com/

thank you, makes life easier for some of us. 🙂

have you ever considered becoming a journalist irfan? you've probably heard this a million times BUT i'm gonna go ahead and say it anyway: we need more Muslims in the media!! :D

PS you can also stick that on the revival news section. I have no issues for vuiews/reviews being in there.

🙁 I lost a long reply that I forgot was being typed in a Cooliris preview window.

I will try and come back to this. My post was in support of my original point, giving further approval to use of the word "alleged", with one or two nods on points since introduced and I held that while tabloid reporting is blunt and sometimes stupid, The Sun legitimately cited their own sources in a more comprehensive article than the BBC's. I'm not doing it now because it took a while to quote, respond and format. Apologies for my own clumsiness with the attempt. (If it happens a lot I'll uninstall the thing but it is useful for quickly checking out a list of forum threads and search results in Firefox.)

*DUST*have you ever considered becoming a journalist irfan?

Yes. But now I've decided against it.

Going to go into the public sector instead.

i am not being funny but there is no need to write essays.....

huh?

ßeast

*DUST*have you ever considered becoming a journalist irfan?

Yes. But now I've decided against it.

how come? - if you don't mind me asking.

I spent so long thinking about it I never got around to doing anything about it. By the time I thought seriously about a career I had become less radical and more than willing to have an office job.

😂

ßeastI spent so long thinking about it I never got around to doing anything about it. By the time I thought seriously about a career I had become less radical and more than willing to have an office job.

:lol:

lol journalism isn't all that 'radical'! 😛 you've been writing media reports for MPAC - that's gotta count for something. so strictly speaking you didn't not do anything about it. pity, i still think you would make an excellent journalist! 🙁

Man admits plot to behead soldier

A 37-year-old Birmingham man has pleaded guilty to plotting to kidnap and kill a British soldier.

Parviz Khan, an unemployed charity worker, intended to seize and behead the unnamed Muslim serviceman "like a pig", Leicester Crown Court was told.

Three other men, Basiru Gassama, 30, Mohammed Irfan, 31, and Hamid Elasmar, 44, have admitted other offences connected with Khan's plot.

The court heard Amjad Mahmood, 32, and Zahoor Iqbal, 30, denied involvement.

The jury was told how Khan, of Alum Rock, intended to kidnap the soldier while on a night out, behead him in a lock-up garage and then release footage of the killing on the internet.

Nigel Rumfitt QC, prosecuting Mr Mahmood and Mr Iqbal, who both deny two offences relating to the plot, told the court that Khan had planned to seize the serviceman in Birmingham's Broad Street entertainment quarter.

"He would be taken to a lock-up garage and there he would be murdered by having his head cut off like a pig," he said.

"This atrocity would be filmed... and the film released to cause panic and fear within the British armed forces and the wider public."

Terrorist equipment

Khan, who also admits intending to supply equipment to terrorists on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, pleaded guilty to the plot earlier this month, but his plea can only now be reported as the trial of Mr Mahmood and Mr Iqbal has begun.

Mr Mahmood denies knowing about Khan's plot and failing to disclose information about it, while Mr Iqbal denies possessing a computer disc called Encyclopaedia Jihad, which would be likely to be useful to a terrorist.

Both men have also pleaded not guilty to helping Khan supply equipment to terrorists in Pakistan.

Irfan and Elasmar have pleaded guilty to helping Khan supply the equipment, while Gassama has admitted knowing about the plot and not telling anyone about it.

The men were arrested in a series of high-profile raids in Birmingham at the end of January last year after an investigation led by West Midlands Police Counter-Terrorism Unit.

Khan was later charged with plotting to kidnap and kill a member of the British armed forces between 2 April 2006 and 1 February 2007.

BBC News