Britain's latest anti-terrorism raid, in which a man was shot and injured, could lead to a serious dip in public confidence in the country's police and security services, newspapers here say.
Police in London have endured almost a year of harsh criticism, including accusations of a cover-up, since armed officers shot dead an unarmed Brazilian man on a subway train in the mistaken belief he was a suicide bomber.
A number of newspapers seized on an admission by the London's
Metropolitan Police Monday that the raid in east London last Friday had so far failed to yield evidence that it was being used as a chemical or biological bomb factory.
The left-of-centre Independent said the high-profile swoop, which involved more than 200 officers, had led to fears among local people about being branded extremists and many Muslim families were now considering leaving Britain.
Others, including right-of-centre dailies, the Daily Telegraph and The Times noted comments by the new leader of the Muslim Council of Britain that trust could break down between the community and the police if nothing is found.
The Times ran a letter from a Yusuf Patel who said he lived in the Forest Gate area where the raid happened.
"Most people I have spoken to believe that these raids are designed to create fear within the Muslim community. If that is the case, it is working," he said.
"The sensationalism of the press, coupled with the heavy-handedness of the police and the unwillingness of the community leaders to provide a strong response to the rumour mill will further the alienation of Muslims in the local area," he added.
The right-wing Daily Mail, meanwhile, said the "backlash" could play into the hands of extremist groups keen to capitalise on the perception that the Muslim community was being unfairly targeted in anti-terrorism operations.
It quoted one unnamed security source as saying "the most dangerous thing we have found is aspirin" during the four-day search.
The fears were expressed as the two brothers of Bangladeshi origin who were detained under the Terrorism Act in the dawn raid remained in police custody.
One of them was transferred Sunday from a London hospital where he was being treated for a gunshot wound to the shoulder sustained in the raid.
Both vehemently deny any involvement in terrorist-related activities, according to their lawyers.
Scotland Yard has insisted that they were duty-bound to act because of the intelligence.
The raid is being investigated by watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which also conducted probes into the fatal shooting of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
Sir Paul Lever, the former chairman of Britain's Joint Intelligence Committee, which advises government on national security issues, said not following up suspicions could be "potentially horrendous".
He told BBC television late Monday: "That's the dilemma that the security services and the police find themselves in. They are damned if they do, damned if they don't."
Ken R
I guess I'll have to go up against the Guardianistas on this one, but I am glad to see and hear the police are taking threats to our national security seriously this time. I find that history shows us that the people who moan most about this type of thing going on are also the most vociferous in their condemnation of the authorities when things go horribly wrong and we suffer a terrorist atrocity !
I am not anti muslim or anti any other religion for that matter. I would not bothre me one iota if the raid had been on a pair of white Christian brothers who were suspected of plotting a terror campaign !
The fact of the matter is that these threats are not going to go away, it will undoubtably get worse before it gets better, if at all. I pay my dues like everyone else and for that, I expect a security service that does what it says on the tin, provides a security service for me and my fellow countrymen, no matter what colour or religeous persuasion that they happen to be.
I want the bad guys to feel that no corner of our green and pleasant land is safe for them, that there is nowhere that prying eyes and listening ears cannot find them out . And if the price of this security is that homes are raided and peoples lives disturbed, then so be it ! It was unfortuante that a memeber of the public was accidentally, but not seriously, wounded in the scuffle. But you have to bear in mind that it was accidental, the bombs that killed so many on the tube and on buses were most definetly not accidents !
I have spent a considerable part of my life so far, looking over my shoulder and wondering where the next assault on my person and my life will come from, I would like to be able to not have to worry about the current terrorist threats as well and the only way I can see of getting peace of mind is to have a security service/police force, that is looking out for all of us here in the UK.
Frank
I vote a resunding "NO."
Whilst I declare I am a retired urban police officer, I do not necessarily agree with everything the police say and do.
But whilst the sensation seeking press try to whip up, we, the hoi polloi, in order to sell their newspapers and watch the media I do believe the Security Services and the Police are in possession of far more information, than they, and such a high scale operation would not have been considered lightly.
F
marieann
I don't know so I am going with not sure. On one hand I think the police must have had more than one eye-witness report to risk a raid like that. On the other hand there was a shooting and there are conflicting reports on who was responsible for that shooting. I am hoping that another de Menezes mix-up did not occur.
Ken R
I agree with what you are saying Frank, it's not always easy to believe everything the police try to feed us, especially if you get information that says exactly the opposite of what they try to have you believe
But I think we all know that the police operation is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg, an enormous amount goes on behind the scenes by people who shun any type of publicity, the police are just the visible arm of law and order, the by no means work alone in these matters.
It is a great pity that more can not be said about these matters to help alay the fears of the public, but it's just not possible to have a lot of this information in the public domain.
Guest
Indeed Ken R. It is unfortunate that by the very nature of the action a section of the public already feel vulnerable and even if the result of the raid comes to a successful conclusion some more vociferous members of that section would never be placated; and a bitter taste will be left even in the mouths of the rest of the country's population.
As for the shooting. That is in the 'Lap of the Gods' and will, as always boil down to how the so-called truth will be perceived by reasonable people.
Sandie Seward
Thank you Guest for your post. Why not register with us, (free), and come in from the cold?
