'Al-Qaida' pair caught filming potential UK terror targets, say police

Footage of stations and shopping centres filmed by Algerian brothers released in response to public criticism of police actions


A suspected al Qaida-inspired cell was caught red-handed filming potential terrorist targets, police said today.

Senior officers said two Algerian brothers may have been employed to prepare the ground for an atrocity in London or at regional shopping centres.

City of London police released footage recorded on amobile phonethat showed entrances, platforms and CCTV cameras at Oxford Circus, Mornington Crescent and Camden Town tube stations.

Footage was also recorded at Liverpool Street rail station and at the nearby Broadgate Circle shopping and restaurant plaza. Police later found the two men also visited the Galleria shopping centre in Hatfield, Bluewater in Kent and a trade outlet in Bridgend, south Wales.

They were foiled when a suspicious police officer stopped one of the men at Liverpool Street. Police said the men were charged with fraud offences and sentenced to up to two years imprisonment before being deported.

Prosecutors did not pursue terrorist charges, firstly, it was claimed, because of difficulties with evidence and secondly because they were unlikely to receive longer sentences. It was said counter terrorist detectives were also hampered because they did not feel they could share all the information they held with the Algerian authorities.

The footage was released today in response to a surge of criticism of police for stopping and searching people taking photographs at tourist hotspots. It had been claimed police are misusing terrorism legislation to target tourists, photographers and the media in general in busy public places.

Detective Superintendent Chris Greany, head of counter-terrorism at City of London police, said the men used sophisticated techniques to hide their tracks. He said the pair may have been the fundraising and research arm of an al-Qaida-linked group in North Africa.

The alleged plot unravelled within hours of one Algerian's arrest on the concourse of Liverpool Street station on 11 July last year. He told officers he was a tourist who spoke little English, but was arrested for immigration offences.

Investigators brought in counter-terrorism experts when they examined a series of videos, each up to 25 minutes long, on his phone. They revealed the man recorded extensive footage at several tube stations and at one stage even caught a tourist bus through central London.

He studied the entrance at Oxford Circus and CCTV cameras in a lift at Mornington Crescent, possibly chosen because it is a deep station accessible only by lift.

The man also visited the busy shopping area of Liverpool Street railway station on the anniversary of the 7 Julybombings.

The two Algerian brothers, both aged in their 40s, had entered Britain about 10 years ago using false French and Italian passports. They worked briefly in a restaurant before moving on to credit card and identity fraud.

Detective Chief Inspector Richard Jack, who led the inquiry, said up to 30 people were linked to the men. He said extremist materials suggesting the link to al Qaida in North Africa were discovered during a search of one property but no connections were found between the Algerians and any known terrorist groups in Britain.

The men made hundreds of thousands of pounds fraudulently buying mobile phones and luxury clothes and exporting them to Algeria.

Assistant Commissioner Frank Armstrong said preventing terrorism remained one of the top priorities for all police forces.

He said: "The City has always been targeted as it is the world's leading financial centre. The Square Mile is still very much a target. One of our main priorities is clearly counter-terrorism. We train our officers and encourage them to do a lot of stop and search. But I would argue we have got the politest police force in the country."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/dec/2 ... ilm-london