UK anti-terror chief warns of possible September 11 attack

Britain's anti-terrorist police chief said yesterday the nation was vulnerable to attack on September 11 but said there was no evidence that any strikes were planned.

London's assistant commissioner David Veness said that there was a threat not only from groups such as al Qaeda, blamed by Washington for last year's attacks on the United States, but also from lone gunmen or rogue guerilla organisations hoping to use the anniversary to win global attention.

"There may be individuals who think here is an anniversary which is a world stage in terms of publicity and for their own reasons they might attack," Veness, who leads the police's anti-terrorism branch, told reporters.

"We shouldn't underestimate these individuals," he said, making a rare public appearance to warn Britain's public to be alert but not alarmed.

Armed road blocks will be dotted around the capital on the anniversary itself and businesses in the City of London financial district have been extensively briefed on security.

There will also be tight security surrounding memorial events and Jewish holidays which fall over the September 11 period, he said.

"We are concerned to ensure that the best deterrents are in place," Veness said.

He said officers had been liaising with security forces in other countries over the possibility of a suicide attack.

"It would be misleading to say that the next international terrorist attack in London is going to be a suicide attack. It could be, but it could also be a traditional gun or bomb attempt," he said.

Since the attacks on America, Britain's anti-terror police have been on a high state of alert. There have been no attacks nor any evidence that strikes were being planned.

Officers say dissident Irish republican groups pose as great a threat as international terrorists.

The Real IRA is suspected of having mounted a bombing campaign on Britain's mainland last year, when a car bomb was detonated outside the BBC's London broadcast headquarters, a blast occurred in Ealing, west London, and an unexploded car bomb was discovered in Birmingham.

In June of this year, Veness - who described the past year as the busiest 12 months of counter-terrorism anyone could recall - said the next attack on the West could be nuclear or biological.

"We are talking about attacks beyond macro casualties. This, I'm afraid, represents a step we can all anticipate," he said.

"Since September 11, we need to add in the dimension of the CBRN (chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear) threat."