http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6134516.stm
Last Updated: Friday, 10 November 2006, 08:51 GMT
"MI5 tracking '30 UK terror plots'"
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "MI5 knows of 30 terror plots threatening the UK and is keeping 1,600 individuals under surveillance, the security service's head has said.
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller warned the threat was "serious" and "growing".
She warned future terrorists could mount chemical or nuclear attacks and that many of the plots in question "linked back to al-Qaeda".
A spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain said Muslims would work with security services to thwart such plots.
Hard choices
MI5 has increased in size by nearly 50% since 9/11 and now stands at roughly 2,800 staff.
But according to Dame Eliza the concern is that even with this rapid growth it will not be able to investigate nearly enough of the activity that is currently under way in the UK. She said hard choices would have to be made about resources.
"I wish life were like Spooks [the TV series] where everything is, a, knowable, and, b, soluble by six people," she explained.
Tomorrow's threat may - I suggest will - include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology
Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller
Dame Eliza's terror warning
Dame Eliza's warning comes days after a UK man was sentenced to at least 40 years in jail for planning a series of attacks.
Attacks planned by Dhiren Barot, 34, from London, included using a so-called "dirty bomb" using radioactive material.
In response to Dame Eliza's warning, Massoud Shadjareh, of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said he accepted there was a terrorist threat but said it had to be put into perspective."
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300 elite cops to fight terror
Manchester Evening News ^ | Friday, 10th November 2006
Posted on 11/10/2006 1:48:38 AM PST by Mrs Ivan
AN elite anti-terror squad with up to 300 detectives is to be set up in Manchester.
The new counter-terrorism hub will dramatically increase the police's ability to tackle the threat of attacks.
It will include experts in intelligence, surveillance, forensics and computers and will be supported by civilian staff.
The move has been welcomed by GMP Chief Constable Michael Todd, who said it will create a hostile environment for terrorists.
There are about 20 officers in Greater Manchester Police's trailblazing anti-terror unit, the first to be set up outside London in 2005.
It will grow by 15 times that size and be funded by the government rather than GMP.
It will operate across the north west and be one of four regional counter-terrorism hubs geared to tracking down anyone planning to mount an attack here or abroad. The other hubs will be in London, the West Midlands and Yorkshire.
Capacity
It is understood the areas chosen relate to the level of threat.
Chief Constable Todd said: "We were ahead of the game because we decided to set up our own anti-terrorism unit early on, before the London attacks. We welcome this new development because it will provide a significant increase in our capacity to make a hostile environment for terrorists."
A spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers described the units as "national assets" which could be called on for countrywide investigations. She said: "The regional hubs will take the number of counter- terrorism officers nationally from 1,300 to 3,000."
Police in Greater Manchester have carried out many raids as part of anti-terrorism measures.