It makes me wonder if the Brits have some ability to block such calls somehow?
If that is what happened, the NYT will run a story explaining in detail the countermeasures necessary to defeat blocked calls.
No need to wonder why the cell phones didn’t work. See below. US Intelligence notified the Brits two weeks ago that nite spots would be targeted. Seems the memo listing potential targets never made it to the Scots, hence the Airport caper.
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/miscellaneous/news/2004/10/65378
Excerpt:
MONTERREY, Mexico — It was the reporters who noticed first. Unable to call their editors while covering the weddings of the rich and famous, they asked the priest why their cell phones never worked at Sacred Heart. His reply: Israeli counterintelligence.
In four Monterrey churches, Israeli-made cell phone jammers the size of paperbacks have been tucked unobtrusively among paintings of the Madonna and statues of the saints.