Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
BANK HOLIDAY BOMB ALERT
Hospitalswarned to prepare for worst Fears 2nd device passed on by Abedi 3,000extremists being probed by MI5
THE NHS is on high alert amid fears of a further terror strike over the bank holiday.
Up to 3,000 UK jihadis are being probed and killer Salman Abedi may have passed on bombs. A source said: “We can’t rule it out.”
TRAUMA centres and hospitals up and down the land have been put on standby amid fears of further terrorist bloodshed over the weekend.
Surgeons, doctors and nurses were warned to make sure there are enough staff, blood and equipment in case there is a repeat of Monday’s horrific bomb attack in Manchester which killed 22 and injured 119, including 14 children. It came as security services claimed up to 3,000 Islamist extremists are feared to be at large in the UK as agents battle to monitor 500 active investigations. Police were yesterday quizzing eight men over the Manchester Arena attack by Salman Abedi, 22, after raids on two homes in the city and one in Nuneaton a day earlier. Officers fear the killer may have built a second bomb which is now in the hands of fellow jihadists. Detectives who raided his home found a working bomb factory with a huge stash of explosive chemicals and other components. A security source said: “The worry is there was enough to build two or three bombs and we can’t rule that out.” More than 2,000 trauma surgeons at 27 units, including ones dealing only with children, are on high alert over the terror threat, which has been raised to critical. NHS England’s Professor Chris Moran said in a memo: “The trauma community in Manchester provided a tremendous response to the atrocity on Monday night and this is a credit to their dedication, skills and preparation. “You will be aware we have a Bank Holiday weekend. There are a number of things all trauma units can do to prepare for a further incident and I should be grateful if you could disseminate these so that frontline clinicians are aware.” And an NHS England spokesman added: “Since the [Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre] announced the threat level has changed from severe to critical, this triggers long-standing, tried and tested protocols reflected in this letter, which reminds NHS organisations of the precautionary measures they need to take to ensure care is in place should it be needed.” Among the guidelines is a special section on how to protect blast victims from infections. It advises giving antibiotics before surgery to minimise the risk. The memo also urges staff to identify patients who can swiftly be discharged if beds are needed. It is understood to be the first time in a decade that the NHS has been put on such a high state of alert. Of those injured in Manchester, 75 were still in hospital last night, with 23 critical. Security services continue
The worry is there was enough to build two or three bombs SECURITY SOURCE ON BOMB MATERIAL FOUND AT ABEDI HOME
to track potential terrorists. They have foiled 18 plots since 2013, including five since Khalid Masood’s Westminster attack which left five people dead just two months ago. MI5 is managing around 500 active investigations. But keeping track of just one suspect 24 hours a day costs millions. The agency would need 90,000 spies to constantly monitor all 3,000 feared terrorists on its radar. Many are said to have returned from fighting for IS in Syria. It emerged yesterday special forces were warned about Abedi at least five times – including by local Muslims and his family. He had travelled to Libya but there were questions over the ease with which he returned to the UK. The bomber was known to the security services “up to a point”. A senior Whitehall source said: “Abedi was one of a larger pool of former subjects of interest whose risk remains subject to review by MI5. Where one shows sufficient risk of re-engaging in terrorism, MI5 can consider re-opening the investigation, but this process inevitably relies on difficult professional judgments.” One former senior security figure said: “Knowing of someone’s radical sympathies and knowing they present a real and present danger are very different things. “So the security dilemma is how to assess who and when to investigate given the resources needed for 24/7 surveillance. “For every suspect that appears to be high priority another has to be pushed down the list.” Shashank Joshi of the Royal United Services Institute added: “It’s easy, with hindsight, to argue these warnings were opportunities to stop the bomber. “However, it’s also possible they were followed up and nothing was discovered.” A former counter-terrorism intelligence officer warned the legal process regarding suspects needs to be reviewed as they cannot be held indefinitely. He said: “I find it unacceptable for individuals to be free in society who have the desire, intent and means to carry out the murder on behalf of some delusional belief.” Theresa May ordered troops on to Britain’s streets on Tuesday. And gun police yesterday began patrolling trains for the first time. But the PM came under further criticism for axing police numbers. Police Federation chairman Steve White welcomed help from the military but said: “We cannot avoid the reasons it is needed at all. “We, the police, do not have the resources to manage an event like this on our own.”