Cobain, Ian, David Hencke, and Richard Norton-Taylor. "MI5 Told MPs on Eve of 7/7: No Imminent Terror Threat." The Guardian, 9 Jan. 2007. [http://www.guardian.co.uk] Materials presented chronologically.
Cobain, Ian, David Hencke, and Richard Norton-Taylor. "MI5 Told MPs on Eve of 7/7: No Imminent Terror Threat." The Guardian, 9 Jan. 2007. [http://www.guardian.co.uk]
MI5 Director-General Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller told "a private meeting of Labour whips at the Commons on the morning" of 6 July 2005 that "there was no imminent terrorist threat to London or the rest of the country." This came "less than 24 hours before the July 7 suicide bombings."
In December 2006, "Dame Eliza announced that she is to retire in April. That announcement came weeks before details are expected to be made public of an MI5 operation which saw two of the July 7 bombers kept under surveillance, but not arrested.... Whitehall is now trawling for candidates to replace Dame Eliza. The clear favourite is Jonathan Evans, her respected deputy, who has led MI5's al-Qaida-related counterterrorist operations."
Cowell, Alan. "Britain Arrests 9 Suspects in Terrorist Kidnapping Plot." New York Times, 1 Feb. 2007. [http://www.nytimes.com]
On 31 January 2007, British police in the city of Birmingham "conducted a series of raids..., arresting nine suspects on terrorism charges in what appeared to be a shift in the tactics of terrorism in Britain. The suspects are accused of devising a plot that included plans to kidnap, torture and behead a British Muslim soldier and broadcast video images of his killing on the Internet.... The Home Office in London called the arrests 'a major counterterrorism operation.'"
Rayment, Sean. "Top Secret Army Cell Breaks Terrorists." Sunday Telegraph (London), 5 Feb. 2007. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk]
In Iraq, a "small and anonymous British Army unit" known as the Joint Support Group (JSG) "has proved to be one of the Coalition's most effective ... weapons in the fight against terror." JSG members "are trained to turn ... terrorists into coalition spies using methods developed ... [in] Ulster during the Troubles.... Since war broke out ... in 2003, they have been responsible for running dozens of Iraqi double agents. Working alongside the Special Air Service and the American Delta Force as part of the Baghdad-based counter-terrorist unit known as Task Force Black, they have supplied intelligence that has saved hundreds of lives and resulted in some of the most notable successes against the myriad terror groups fighting in Iraq."
Norton-Taylor, Richard. "New Head of MI5 Is Terror Plot Specialist." The Guardian, 8 Mar. 2007. [http://www.guardian.co.uk]
It was announced on 7 March 2007 that "Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of MI5, is to be succeeded [in April 2007] by Jonathan Evans, her deputy, who has been in charge of monitoring al-Qaida and its sympathisers in Britain."
Evans, Michael. "MI6 Ordered to Explain Secrecy over Superspy Files." Times (London), 7 May 2007. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk]
"MI6 has been ordered by a judge to appear at a special public hearing over the case of one of its wartime superspies, whose file is buried in the archives of the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service.... A challenge to [MI6's] policy of secrecy has been made by the nephew of Paul Rosbaud, an Austrian physicist and metallurgist who spied for Britain in the Second World War and provided crucial intelligence on German attempts to build a uranium atomic bomb."
Arutunyan, Anna. "UK and Russia Trade Diplomats in Spy Row." Moscow News, 20 Jul. 2007. [http://mnweekly.rian.ru]
"Tensions between Russia and the UK over the ongoing investigation into the poisoning death of former Russian intelligence agent Alexander Litvinenko have escalated to a new level with the United Kingdom's decision to expel four Russian diplomats in response to Moscow's refusal to hand over Britain's chief suspect in the murder, Andrei Lugovoi. Russia responded with tit-for-tat measures [on 19 July 2007], declaring four British diplomats persona non grata and giving them ten days to leave the country."
Harding, Thomas. "Exodus of Officers Hits War on Terror." Daily Telegraph (London), 14 Aug. 2007. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk]
"The military's ability to fight global terrorism is being hampered by an exodus of officers from the Intelligence Corps, with 20 per cent departing in the past three years, defence sources have disclosed.... [M]ore than 100 officers [have been] lured into highly paid private security jobs or becom[e] disillusioned at the way intelligence is handled.... In particular, Special Forces are suffering with dwindling numbers as troops are recruited into the private sector. Only last month, the commanding officer of 22 SAS left a promising career for a well-paid civilian job."
Evans, Michael. "Ex-TA Soldier, Peter Hill, Is Bailed in Russian Espionage Inquiry." Times (London), 12 Nov. 2007. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk]
Peter Hill, a "former Territorial Army soldier," was arrested on 7 November 2007 on suspicion of attempting "to pass classified military material to the Russians." He will be charged "under the 1883 Explosive Substances Act after items were removed from residential and business addresses..., including sodium chlorate, hexamine tablets and a metal tube. Police and security sources confirmed that he had initially been arrested under the Official Secrets Act."
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