Why do the authorities feel it necessary to seal off such a large area when
they have already made the bomb safe and removed the explosive material?

Someone said that it was so the police could forensically search the area
for stuff the suspect might have dropped. However there have been no teams
of police on hands and knees conducting fingertip searches or anything like
that.

Or is it not really needed at all and its just to make a statement to the
public about how serious it could have been?

"MichaelJP" wrote in message

Why do the authorities feel it necessary to seal off such a large
area when they have already made the bomb safe and removed the
explosive material?
Someone said that it was so the police could forensically search the
area for stuff the suspect might have dropped. However there have
been no teams of police on hands and knees conducting fingertip
searches or anything like that.

Or is it not really needed at all and its just to make a statement to
the public about how serious it could have been?

Perhaps they want to make sure there aren't any more bombs in the area?

"Recliner" wrote in message
...
"MichaelJP" wrote in message

Why do the authorities feel it necessary to seal off such a large
area when they have already made the bomb safe and removed the
explosive material?
Someone said that it was so the police could forensically search the
area for stuff the suspect might have dropped. However there have
been no teams of police on hands and knees conducting fingertip
searches or anything like that.

Or is it not really needed at all and its just to make a statement to
the public about how serious it could have been?

Perhaps they want to make sure there aren't any more bombs in the area?

If that's really the case then they should close all of central London.
There is no particular reason that another bomb should be within 200 yards
of the Mercedes. A typical Al Quaeda plot would involve multiple bombs, but
spread over several miles.

Its almost as though the response is calibrated according to the seriousness
of what could have happened if the bomb had exploded, rather than the real
situation on the ground. Maybe they hope to get a better response from the
public that way.

"MichaelJP" wrote in
:

If that's really the case then they should close all of central
London. There is no particular reason that another bomb should be
within 200 yards of the Mercedes. A typical Al Quaeda plot would
involve multiple bombs, but spread over several miles.

And it turns out the second bomb WAS within 200 yards. Sitting down in
Cockspur Street, probably an area where people would have been evacuated
to had the first one gone off. Except that they'd parked it illegally and
it had been towed to just off Park Lane.

Iain

On Jun 29, 9:54 pm, Iain wrote:
"MichaelJP" wrote :

If that's really the case then they should close all of central
London. There is no particular reason that another bomb should be
within 200 yards of the Mercedes. A typical Al Quaeda plot would
involve multiple bombs, but spread over several miles.

And it turns out the second bomb WAS within 200 yards. Sitting down in
Cockspur Street, probably an area where people would have been evacuated
to had the first one gone off.

We were joking at work about a case where a car bomb hadn't paid the
congestion charge, towed to a carpark miles away, and ended up blowing
up in a deserted car pound

And it turns out the second bomb WAS within 200 yards. Sitting down in
Cockspur Street, probably an area where people would have been evacuated
to had the first one gone off. Except that they'd parked it illegally and
it had been towed to just off Park Lane.

Iain

Anyone know how they managed to divert traffic round Park Lane. I
can't see any other route for North-South.

wrote:
And it turns out the second bomb WAS within 200 yards. Sitting
down in Cockspur Street, probably an area where people would have
been evacuated to had the first one gone off. Except that they'd
parked it illegally and it had been towed to just off Park Lane.

Iain

Anyone know how they managed to divert traffic round Park Lane. I
can't see any other route for North-South.

There are plenty of routes to the west, for example:

West Carriage Drive (Hyde Park)
or Kensington Church Street
or Holland Road / Addison Road (A3220 West Cross Route)

--
Richard J.
(to e-mail me, swap uk and yon in address)

wrote:

Anyone know how they managed to divert traffic round Park Lane.

I don't know

I can't see any other route for North-South.

How much of it was shut?

North Row - North Audley St - Grosvenor Sq - South Audley St - Curzon St
avoids most of it.

North Row - North Audley St - Grosvenor Sq - Carols Pla - Mount St -
Berkeley Sq - Fitzmaurice Pla - Curzon St - Bolton St - Piccadilly avoids
pretty much all of it.

"Iain" wrote in message
...
"MichaelJP" wrote in
:

If that's really the case then they should close all of central
London. There is no particular reason that another bomb should be
within 200 yards of the Mercedes. A typical Al Quaeda plot would
involve multiple bombs, but spread over several miles.

And it turns out the second bomb WAS within 200 yards. Sitting down in
Cockspur Street, probably an area where people would have been evacuated
to had the first one gone off. Except that they'd parked it illegally and
it had been towed to just off Park Lane.

Iain

Proves my point then, once the bomb had been safed there was only further
danger in bringing out people onto the streets. Baghdad should teach them
that.
This particular cell seems to have been particularly incompetent -
surprising really for a group of doctors.

Even though it was only luck that prevented this attack I still think it is
pointless to introduce new measures merely to react to the last attack, such
as shoe inspections, water bottle checks and now airport terminal
restrictions.

If the Islamists want to kill civilians where we gather together there are
innumerable ways of doing so.

Better to keep our freedoms, stay vigilant and not give in.

MichaelJP wrote:

This particular cell seems to have been particularly incompetent -
surprising really for a group of doctors.

Maybe the plan went wrong because they couldn't read each other's
handwriting.