Search on 'chemical bomb plot' house continues

London Telegraph | June 3rd 2006

Dozens of police are still searching the house at the centre of a suspected chemical bomb plot.

At least eight police vans full of officers arrived at the scene today to relieve their colleagues who have been searching the property through the night.

Some of the officers have been working for more than 24 hours since the raid took place.

Officers could be seen changing out of their rubber biological and chemical suits and other protective clothing, including gloves and overshoes, in the street outside the house.

A 23-year-old was hit by a bullet in the shoulder as armed officers descended on a family terraced house in east London in the early hours of yesterday.

He was later arrested under the Terrorism Act after being treated for the gunshot wound in the Royal London Hospital, where he is still recovering.

A 20-year-old man, thought to be his brother, was also held in the raid, which involved 250 police officers, MI5 and bio-chemical experts, and is still in custody.

The neighbours of the raided house on Lansdown Road, Forest Gate, said today that they "never expected" to be at the centre of a massive police operation.

The man and woman, who have two teenage children, said police offered to send them to a hotel yesterday evening "for their safety", but they chose to stay instead at a relative's house further down the road.

The woman, who declined to be named, said her neighbours were ordinary people.

She said: "We knew them of course. But only to say hello and goodbye to. This is totally unexpected. It was a shock."

Ashish Khetani, 19, who has lived opposite the raided house for 18 years, said residents suspected the street was being watched for about three months.

He said: "For about three months, one at either end of the road, they have been sitting there from 9am until 6pm in the evening.

"They were undercover but we knew they were police because of the phones, cups of tea and papers. We knew they were police."

Mr Khetani, who works as a security engineer, said he saw the first armed police officers enter the house.

He said: "I could see a window was smashed and two men in black with guns jumped through the window and opened the front door from inside to let the other guys in.

"I've been living opposite them for 18 years. If they told us they'd found explosives I would be really gobsmacked.

"It is pretty scary living here now. I have never been escorted to my own house by the police before. It's only a short walk really but if it's terrorism it's terrorism."

Postman Alex Mould, 31, completed his delivery in Lansdown Road accompanied by a police officer.

He said: "It's the same work as I do every day really, putting letters through the door. It's just someone to chat to.

"I don't think I've ever had a police escort before or a situation where it has been needed."

Yesterday, the Metropolitan Police's head of anti-terrorism, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, said "very specific" intelligence had pointed to a terrorist threat. Surveillance had been in place for weeks.

Detectives believe a plot was being hatched to use a chemical device in the UK but do not believe it was linked to the July 7 bombings in London last year.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission immediately launched an investigation into the shooting which will be overseen by Deborah Glass, the IPCC Commissioner for London and the South East.

Friends who went to see the wounded man in hospital said he had been shot in front of his parents and sisters, some of whom had to be treated for shock.

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