Emergency.Blog

Update: Thwarted Car Bombing in Central London

29 June 2007

Met Police Press Conference on Thwarted Car Bombing in Central London

At a press conference earlier today DAC Peter Clarke gave the following statement:

"At about 1 am this morning (29 June) a London Ambulance Service crew was called to the Tiger Tiger nightclub in The Haymarket, Piccadilly, London W1 to treat a person who had been taken ill.

"While there they noticed a Mercedes car parked outside the club, in The Haymarket. They also noticed that there appeared to be smoke inside the vehicle.

"The police were called, and Metropolitan Police Explosives Officers went to the scene and examined the car. In the car they found significant quantities of petrol, together with a number of gas cylinders.

"I cannot at this stage tell you exactly how much petrol, because we have not yet had a chance to measure it precisely, but it was in several large containers. There were also a large number of nails in the vehicle. The Explosives Officers disabled a potential means of detonation of the gas and fuel in the vehicle.

"I think it would be right at this stage to pay tribute to the courage and skill of the Explosives Officers, who manually disabled the device, and in so doing not only did their action prevent damage and injury to property but have given us opportunities to gather a great deal of forensic and other evidence from the vehicle.

"As always in these cases, the safety of the public was paramount, and the area around the vehicle was cordoned off.

"The vehicle has now been taken away for detailed forensic examination, which will take some time."

Video of Press Conference: http://www.met.police.uk/news/video/DAC_Peter_Clarke_press_conference_29.06.07_11.45.wmv
(Requires video player to review this tape)