Bomber was given House of Commons tour by a Labour MP [Yes, it could happen here]

ONE of the London suicide bombers was allowed to tour the Houses of Parliament as the guest of an MP months after police and intelligence services became aware of his links to another alleged bomb plot, it emerged last night.

Mohammad Sidique Khan, 30, was a guest of the Labour MP Jon Trickett in July 2004, four months after he had been identified by intelligence officials as a "criminal associate" of one of the subjects of a major counter-terrorism operation that had resulted in several arrests.

The extraordinary visit emerged as an Egyptian biochemist who may be linked to the bombers was arrested in Cairo, where he was due to be questioned by Scotland Yard detectives.

The astonishing revelation about the killer's Commons visit throws into question previous assertions that none of the bombers was known to police in connection with terrorist allegations and comes amid growing concerns about how the bombers were allowed to strike.

Britain's "slack" border controls were already in the spotlight after it became clear that a significant al-Qaeda suspect had entered the country undetected and slipped away again hours before the London suicide attacks, which claimed the lives of 54 people.

The suspected terrorist was not put under surveillance after entering Britain, but is now being urgently sought by the intelligence services in connection with the bomb blasts.

The revelation - which came as police warned that another attack was "a strong possibility" - prompted calls from opposition parties and immigration staff for tighter controls on people entering and leaving Britain, and raised questions about security precautions before the London attacks.

Downing Street indicated yesterday that an internal investigation was being carried out into whether mistakes were made in the run-up to the attacks. A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: "We are going to let the investigation take its course. We are going to let the review mechanisms take their course, and we will do this properly."

Doubts have also been raised about why the Joint Terrorism Assessment Centre had relaxed the terrorist threat status from "severe general" down to "substantial" before the attacks.

There was, however, some good news for police and intelligence services yesterday as the Egyptian biochemist sought in connection with the attacks was arrested in Cairo. Magdy Mahmoud Mustafa el-Nashar, 33, who until recently had been teaching chemistry at Leeds University, was being questioned last night by Egyptian authorities. El-Nashar is thought to have rented one of the homes police searched in Leeds in a series of raids on Tuesday.

El-Nashar is said to have told the authorities that he arrived on holiday about two weeks ago and had intended to go back to Britain to continue his studies.

Police are still hunting the man who is believed to have masterminded the attacks, and the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, said he was convinced that a link between the attackers and al-Qaeda would soon emerge.

"What we expect to find at some stage is that there is a clear al-Qaeda link, a clear al-Qaeda approach, because the four men who are dead, who we believe are the bombers, are in the category of foot soldiers," he said.

Pakistani intelligence officials are looking into a connection between one of the three Britons and two al-Qaeda-linked militant groups in that country. They confirmed that Shahzad Tanweer spent four or five days at a complex run by the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba - as first reported by The Scotsman - and said he also met a member of another al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani terrorist group who was later arrested for bombing a church in Islamabad.

More details emerged yesterday that there had been indications an attack was imminent. Plans for attacks on targets in both the United States and Britain were discovered among material found during the capture of Abu Faraj Farj al-Liby, one of the most senior al-Qaeda leaders, and of a Pakistani computer expert, Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan. Some intelligence officials said those plans included attacks on London's transport system, as well as Heathrow Airport.

Last night, the Labour Party released more details about the Westminster visit by Khan, who killed himself and six commuters in the Edgware Road Tube blast. He had been invited in his capacity as a learning mentor at Hillside Primary School in Beeston, Leeds, where Mr Tickett's wife, Sarah, is the headteacher.

Mr Trickett's son was in the same school year group as Khan 17 years ago, and Khan had visited Mr Trickett and his wife at their home.

In July last year, the Hemsworth MP's wife took a number of her pupils on a trip to London and Khan accompanied the party as a member of school staff. The Labour Party said the group visited a number of attractions, including the London Eye and St James's Park.

During the visit, the Leeds Central MP, Hilary Benn, the International Development Secretary, joined the group in Portcullis House to talk about his role as their local MP.

They then met Mr Trickett, who used to represent Beeston on Leeds City Council, and who accompanied the group on the rest of their visit around the Palace of Westminster.

It also emerged yesterday that Farida Patel, Khan's mother-in-law, was pictured at a Buckingham Palace garden party with her husband, Abdul Aslam, and their daughter, Hasina. In 1998, she became the first Asian woman to attend a Palace garden party. Yesterday, she was being guarded by police in a safe house as forensic detectives continued to comb her home for clues.

In the Presidents words, respecting Islam

“Islam is a vibrant faith. Millions of our fellow citizens are Muslim. We respect the faith. We honor its traditions. Our enemy does not. Our enemy doesn't follow the great traditions of Islam. They've hijacked a great religion.”
Remarks by President George W. Bush on U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan
Presidential Hall, Dwight David Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C.
October 11, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021011-3.html

“Islam is a faith that brings comfort to people. It inspires them to lead lives based on honesty, and justice, and compassion.”
Remarks by President George W. Bush on U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan
Presidential Hall, Dwight David Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C.
October 11, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021011-3.html

“All Americans must recognize that the face of terror is not the true faith -- face of Islam. Islam is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It's a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It's a faith based upon love, not hate.”
President George W. Bush Holds Roundtable with Arab- and Muslim-American Leaders
Afghanistan Embassy, Washington, D.C.
September 10, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/09/20020910-7.html

“If liberty can blossom in the rocky soil of the West Bank and Gaza, it will inspire millions of men and women around the globe who are equally weary of poverty and oppression, equally entitled to the benefits of democratic government. I have a hope for the people of Muslim countries. Your commitments to morality, and learning, and tolerance led to great historical achievements. And those values are alive in the Islamic world today. You have a rich culture, and you share the aspirations of men and women in every culture. Prosperity and freedom and dignity are not just American hopes, or Western hopes. They are universal, human hopes. And even in the violence and turmoil of the Middle East, America believes those hopes have the power to transform lives and nations.”
President George W. Bush Calls for New Palestinian Leadership
The Rose Garden, Washington, D.C.
June 24, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020624-3.html

“When it comes to the common rights and needs of men and women, there is no clash of civilizations. The requirements of freedom apply fully to Africa and Latin America and the entire Islamic world. The peoples of the Islamic nations want and deserve the same freedoms and opportunities as people in every nation. And their governments should listen to their hopes.”
Remarks by the President George W. Bush at the 2002 Graduation Exercise of the United States Military Academy
West Point, New York
June 1, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/06/20020601-3.html

“America rejects bigotry. We reject every act of hatred against people of Arab background or Muslim faith… America values and welcomes peaceful people of all faiths -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, Hindu and many others. Every faith is practiced and protected here, because we are one country. Every immigrant can be fully and equally American because we're one country. Race and color should not divide us, because America is one country.”
President George W. Bush Promotes Compassionate Conservatism
Parkside Hall, San Jose, California
April 30, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/04/20020430-5.html

“We're taking action against evil people. Because this great nation of many religions understands, our war is not against Islam, or against faith practiced by the Muslim people. Our war is a war against evil. This is clearly a case of good versus evil, and make no mistake about it -- good will prevail.”
Remarks by the President George W. Bush at a Town Hall Meeting with Citizens of Ontario
Ontario Convention Center, Ontario, California
January 5, 2002
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/01/20020105-3.html

“According to Muslim teachings, God first revealed His word in the Holy Qur'an to the prophet, Muhammad, during the month of Ramadan. That word has guided billions of believers across the centuries, and those believers built a culture of learning and literature and science. All the world continues to benefit from this faith and its achievements.”
Remarks by the President George W. Bush At Iftaar Dinner
The State Dining Room, Washington, D.C.
November 19, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011119-14.html

“The Islam that we know is a faith devoted to the worship of one God, as revealed through The Holy Qur’an. It teaches the value and the importance of charity, mercy, and peace.”
President George W. Bush’s Message for Ramadan
November 15, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011115-14.html

"This new enemy seeks to destroy our freedom and impose its views. We value life; the terrorists ruthlessly destroy it. We value education; the terrorists do not believe women should be educated or should have health care, or should leave their homes. We value the right to speak our minds; for the terrorists, free expression can be grounds for execution. We respect people of all faiths and welcome the free practice of religion; our enemy wants to dictate how to think and how to worship even to their fellow Muslims."
President George W. Bush Addresses the Nation
World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia
November 8, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011108-13.html

“All of us here today understand this: We do not fight Islam, we fight against evil.”
Remarks by President George W. Bush to the Warsaw Conference on Combating Terrorism
November 6, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/11/20011106-2.html

“I have assured His Majesty that our war is against evil, not against Islam. There are thousands of Muslims who proudly call themselves Americans, and they know what I know -- that the Muslim faith is based upon peace and love and compassion. The exact opposite of the teachings of the al Qaeda organization, which is based upon evil and hate and destruction.”
Remarks by President George W. Bush and His Majesty King Abdullah of Jordan
The Oval Office, Washington, D.C.
September 28, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010928-4.html

“Americans understand we fight not a religion; ours is not a campaign against the Muslim faith. Ours is a campaign against evil.”
President George W. Bush Remarks by the President to Airline Employees
O'Hare International Airport, Chicago, Illinois
September 27, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010927-1.html

“The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them.”
President George W. Bush’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress and the American People
United States Capitol, Washington, D.C.
September 20, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010920-8.html

“I've made it clear, Madam President, that the war against terrorism is not a war against Muslims, nor is it a war against Arabs. It's a war against evil people who conduct crimes against innocent people.”
Remarks by President George W. Bush and President Megawati of Indonesia
The Oval Office, Washington, D.C.
September 19, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010919-1.html

“The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war.”
Remarks by the President at Islamic Center of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
September 17, 2001
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010917-11.html

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