Why all the bally-hoo?

On Wednesday, nine men were arrested in dawn raids in various parts of the city of Birmingham, in what police described as an 'intelligence-led operation'. Well 'Intelligence' may have led it but I saw little sign of intelligence in the way it was subsequently handled.

The media very quickly gained information, not just on the raids themselves, but on the ethnic background of the people arrested and that the arrested men were planning to kidnap a British soldier, decapitate him, and show the execution over the internet.

The West Midlands Police held a much delayed press conference at which Assistant Chief Constable David Shaw tried to dampen down much of the speculation about the arrests and the nature of the intended crime - but by then it was too late. Newspapers and TV had been awash with the story and its presumed gruesome intent all day.



No one has yet been charged with this intended crime yet the most sensational and lurid details are circulating around the press and TV. How and why? If the planning was good enough to keep the raids secret from the suspects, why was it impossible to keep these other details from the press until person or persons had been charged?

The raids were quite clearly in the Muslim parts of the city, the proposed crime is quite obviously an Al-Queda style execution and the combination is certain to stir up tension in areas where people already feel that their community is under hostile focus.

Did the police release all this detailed information to the media or did this 'leak' stem from the Home Office in order for John Reid to justify ever more repressive anti terrorist laws? The last time such a raid occurred, a similar 'Intelligence led operation', Muslims were arrested amid great publicity and then quietly released with no fanfare when it was discovered there was no basis for action to be taken against them.



For the sake of the credibility of the Intelligence Services and the police it is hoped the same outcome is not repeated here!.