Flight delays

[titchy]

bbc today

Check out the elderley north London couple's comments - bottom 3 paragraphs!!!!! Where do they get these people from!

PMSL.... at the elderly couple. Bless!

I can't say I blame their disbelief towards it - there have been countless reports in the news over the last few years of "major operations" designed to stop terror attacks with 100's of arrests in total - but the number of people actually charged is tiny - and many of those that have been charged have been done for completely unrelated offences!

These are quite old statistics now (2yrs old) - but I doubt they've changed much TBH

Of the 572 persons arrested in Britain up to April 2004 under anti-Terrorism laws, 289 were released without charge (51%). Of the remaining, 186 were charged with passport irregularities and other crimes not related to terrorism. Of the 97 charged with a terror-related offence 14 convictions have been upheld (2% of arrests).

"I don't believe anyone has the capability to bring down planes in the Atlantic" Bless him.

??????? It only takes a smallish explosion to bring down a plane! Does he think 9/11 was a "hoax" aswell? Old fart.

yeah, but in arresting 572 they have got 14 terrorists. It only takes 4 to cause death and destruction.

Agree Qootiepie. Sometimes you have to break a lot of eggs........

yes but bare (bear?) in mind that this was 2004 - and despite all those arrests 7/7 still happened last year.

And 'terror related offences' actually covers a very broad spectrum - remember the OAP heckler last year?? He was banned from returning to the conference until the terrorism act!

after further searching I've discovered some of the things that people could be prosecuted under the old (2000/2001) terrorism act include

Failure to leave a cordoned area immediately when ordered to do so by a constable in uniform

Failure to leave premises, which abut or are wholly or partially within a cordoned area, immediately if ordered to dos o by a constable in uniform

Failure of driver or person in charge of a vehicle which is in a cordoned area to immediately move the vehicle if ordered to do so by a constable in uniform.

Failure to stop (Power to stop and search vehicles and pedestrians)

Provides instruction; invites another to receive instruction in weapon training.

Collect, record or possession of information or articles likely to be of use to Terrorists. (I should imagine that many journalist could theorectically could be convicted on that one if they're researching on terrorist based stuff)

Just found this quote too

Information gathered with the help of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) and Institute of Race Relations provided details of 13 convictions.

It emerged that three of the convictions related to Irish republicanism and four to the Irish loyalist movement.

Two stemmed from a Sikh terrorism case and one involved Tamil terrorism.

Only three related to some form of Islamic terrorism.

7/7 happened... but how many others didnt happen?

judging from the number of convictions - I'd say not many! I've discovered that two of those actually convicted for offences related to Islamic terrorism (which is actually very small indeed) were found guilty of raising funds for terrorism............so presumably those who they were raising funds for are still out there.....

but even 1 terrorist in jail is better than 1 more out of jail?

have a read of this - seems the act is doing a pretty good job of routing out "possible" supporters of (white) terrorist groups......

I wonder how many of the 23 (I think it is) people arrested over the last few days will be 'quietly' released without charge (or simply charged with other offences completely unrelated to the alleged (word still used by the police when talking about it) planned terrorist attack)

and do you remember a few years ago (2003 I think it was) when Heathrow was swamped by 400 armed police because of another alleged attack........don't think anything ever came of that.

TBH - I (personally) feel that if the risk was that great (bearing in mind they said the other day they "thought" they had "most" of the key players in custody) why on earth didn't they stop flights until they were sure???????

sorry - really will bugger off in a minute - but just found this - and that is the sort of thing you can be arrested for under the Terrorism Act!!! Which does kind of make you wonder how many of those they actually charged are charged with such offences!!!

QoQ now quivers in the knowledge that Zimbabwe is equally ruthless about arresting people and charging them under extreme legislation for very minor things......*

actually am feeling rather shocked now - just read

Incredibly, it appears that passengers delayed by the understaffed security search checkpoints, have missed their flights from Heathrow, despite their hold luggage taking off on a plane without them

In other words, in their improperly rehearsed attempt to Be Seen To Be Doing Something, the Home Office and Department for Transport have actually made it easier for non-suicide bomb attacks, such as the Pan Am flight 103 Lockerbie disaster

What a terrifying thought! It must have been incredbily easy on those first few days of chaos to "deliberately" miss flights while letting the luggage travel.

I'm really going to go now though - as I'm talking to myself and you probably all want to slap me...