BRITAIN:Terror cast its shadow over the second meeting of Gordon Brown's new cabinet yesterday after police foiled the first of two car bomb attacks that would have brought "carnage" to the streets of London's West End.
Explosives experts carried out a controlled explosion on the metallic Mercedes car parked outside a packed nightclub in the Haymarket, near Piccadilly Circus, after an alert ambulance crew spotted smoke or vapour inside the vehicle.
When police arrived they found the car packed with significant quantities of petrol, gas cylinders, nails and "a potential means of detonation" which the bomb squad successfully disabled.
Scotland Yard's head of counter-terrorism, Deputy Assistant Commissioner (DAC) Peter Clarke, said it was obvious that "if the device had been detonated there could have been serious injury or loss of life".
That dire message was repeated by new home secretary Jacqui Smith, who praised the work of the explosives experts and called for renewed public vigilance after chairing a meeting of the cabinet's emergency Cobra committee.
As police and the intelligence services studied the scene of crime, gathered CCTV evidence and analysed for any evidence of further impending threats, Mr Brown said the public needed to "be alert at all times" as Britain faced "a serious and continuous threat".
Although the police remained officially open-minded about the bombing attempts, of which there was no prior intelligence warning, security sources indicated an operative assumption of an "international" involvement or dimension. DAC Clarke told his first press conference of the day that, while it was too early to say who was responsible, the Haymarket incident "resonated" with previous terrorist plots.
Earlier this year five men were jailed for life for their part in a plot to bomb a shopping centre and a nightclub, and in another case the leader of a terrorist "sleeper cell" planned attacks and bombings using an explosives-packed limousine.
When the Mercedes was spotted at about 1.30am yesterday, hundreds of clubbers were partying the night away in the nearby Tiger Tiger, a four-storey venue close to celebrity haunts such as Chinawhite and just yards from the landmark Piccadilly Circus. The paramedics who spotted the suspect vehicle had been called to the club on an unrelated emergency call.
With many nightspots in the area closing between 2am and 3am, the streets in the surrounding area were still packed with people. DAC Clarke said there was no doubt that the courage of the bomb squad had saved many lives.
As the multi-dimensional police, security and intelligence operation rapidly expanded last night before the discovery of a second car bomb, there was no indication as to the significance of the timing of the attempted bombings - whether in relation to the appointment of the new government or the upcoming anniversary of the July 7th, 2005 London bombings.
Speaking in Downing Street after the Cobra meeting, Ms Smith said: "We are currently facing the most severe and sustained threat to our security from international terrorism. This latest incident reinforces the need for the public to remain vigilant and alert to the threat we face at all times." While yesterday's cabinet was called to discuss proposed constitutional reform measures ahead of an expected announcement to parliament on Monday, the latest bomb attempt will ensure a swift focus on Ms Smith's task to frame new anti-terrorist legislation covering controversial issues such as the 90-day detention of terrorist suspects favoured by Mr Brown.