Martyrdom 'bomb plot' videos found
Scotland Yard have conducted 69 searches in relation to the bomb plot investigation
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Monday, 21, Aug 2006 09:36
Police have today charged 11 people with being involved in an alleged plot to blow up transatlantic airliners.
Scotland Yard have also spoken in detail for the first time about the progress of their investigation following the 23 arrests made on August 10th, including revealing that officers have found bomb-making equipment and so-called martyrdom videos.
Of the 11 suspects charged today, eight have been charged with two offences under anti-terrorism legislation - that of conspiracy to murder and a new offence of preparing acts of terrorism contrary to section five of the Terrorism Act 2006.
Three others have been charged with other offences under the Terrorism Act 2000, including a 17-year-old who has been charged with possession of articles useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism and failing to disclose information.
One woman has been released from custody without charge while 11 others remain in custody. Their position is being assessed on a regular basis, Susan Hemming of the crown prosecution service (CPS) said.
Ms Hemming added that the decision to charge the individuals was made as quickly as practicable.
"We cannot yet make a decision about whether further charges will follow or if a further application for detention will be made on Wednesday as the evidential picture is continuously developing," she said.
The Metropolitan police's deputy assistant commissioner, Peter Clarke, added that bomb-making equipment including hydrogen peroxide had been found in searches subsequent to August 10th, as well as the martyrdom video recordings.
"This gives us a clear picture of the alleged plot," DAC Clarke said, adding that the scale of investigation is "immense" and that inquiries will span the globe.
"The enormity of the alleged plot will be matched only by our determination to follow every lead," he said.
Sixty-nine searches have been conducted in houses, flats, business premises, vehicles and open spaces, while 400 computers, 200 mobile telephones and 8,000 items of removal storage media have been searched.
The "meticulous investigation of this material will take many months", DAC Clarke added.
"The threat from terrorism is real, it is here, it is deadly and it is enduring," he concluded at a press briefing this afternoon