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Top cop's terror warning

9/ 4/2008

A TOP counter terrorism cop has warned a Manchester conference `the aim of the game now is mass murder'.
Chief Supt Tony Porter, head of the GMP-based Counter Terrorism Unit, painted a bleak picture of the threat from Muslim extremists when he addressed business leaders at a security conference.

But he also spoke of his `optimism for the future' and his desire to make the region `the most hostile environment you can imagine' for terrorists.

He warned delegates at the start of his speech he would outline `the scary bits' of the terror threat.
"Al-Qaida have re-written the manual of attack," he said, explaining that the historic threat from the IRA was `somewhat easier to manage' because its targets were focused, warnings were issued before bombings and Republicans wanted to escape alive afterwards.

"They didn't want to commit suicide. The aim of the game now is mass murder," he said.
The current threat level is graded as `severe', which means an attack is `highly likely'.
Last year MI5 head Jonathan Evans told a Manchester conference 2,000 terrorists were operating in Britain, with another possible 2,000 not identified.

Chief Supt Porter told the delegates at New Century Hall he would not reveal how many were active in Greater Manchester as it was `not helpful'.

However he suggested terrorists were operating `in a town near you'.
The officer admitted that six years ago, when he started out in Special Branch, he thought that would have been a `sensational' claim, but he now believed it was accurate.

His team, which has 400 staff and is one of four counter terrorism units in the country, has locked up five terrorists in the last year, he said. His officers pursued active terrorists, prevented vulnerable people from being recruited by Al-Qaida, prepared and protected communities from attack. He added: "There's a real sense that with our collective effort we can make this the most hostile environment for terrorism you can imagine."

Before his speech, Chief Supt Porter told the M.E.N: "The reality is that the threat is severe and that we are actively pursuing on a national basis a known terrorist threat."

He said the Security 2008 conference, which brought together police, security experts and business leaders to discuss combined approaches to terrorism, was `sound evidence' that the threat was being taken seriously.

He said: "In the event of any terrorist strike, businesses are always at the heart of an attack whether it's transport, the city nightlife or retail.

"The message we want to give out to business leaders is not to be complacent and to engage with the security industry to make sure every one of us is in a position to respond with determination and resilience