Lord West of Spithead, who was counter-terrorism minister, has given details of the extremist plot, following Keir Starmer’s proposal to create a “battle-ready, armour-clad” nation
An al-Qaeda militant cell sought to poison London’s water supplies but were thwarted by the security services, a former counter-terrorism minister has revealed.
Details of the foiled 2008 extremist plot were given by Lord West of Spithead, who was in office at the time, as the Government was tackled at Westminster over steps to protect the Britain’s reservoirs against attack by hostile forces.
It follows the publication of comprehensive military plans to safeguard the UK in the face of threats from Vladimir Putin’s Russia and China.
Sir Keir Starmer said the strategic defence review (SDR), published earlier this week, would create a “battle-ready, armour-clad” nation. The move comes against the backdrop of ongoing concerns about the vulnerability of critical national infrastructure to attack.
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Pressed in Parliament over whether there had ever been an attempt or a plan uncovered to contaminate the UK’s water supply, environment minister Baroness Hayman of Ullock said: “My understanding is that there has not been such an incident, but that does not mean that we should be complacent. We know that our water and energy infrastructure are both potentially vulnerable to hostile attacks.”
But moving to correct his frontbench colleague, Lord West, who served as Home Office minister for security and counter-terrorism from 2007 to 2010, said: “In 2008 there was an attempt by eight al-Qaeda operatives to poison north London water supplies. I am pleased to say that our agencies worked brilliantly to stop it happening.”
The former Navy chief, who sits on Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, added: “As a result, in the Home Office we put in hand a whole series of work on police response times, indicators of where the outflows from reservoirs went and new barriers.
“Where has all that work gone? These things somehow seem to disappear. There should be some reports, and hopefully someone did something about it.”
Responding, Lady Hayman said: “That is extremely interesting and very helpful of my noble friend. I will certainly look into it, because it is an important point.”
Earlier, the minister told peers: “The Government’s first duty is to protect our national security and keep our country safe.
“Defra (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) recognises that the drinking water supply is a potential target for hostile actors.
“It works with water companies and partners across Government to understand and monitor threats to water supply and to consider responses as appropriate to protect the security of our water system.”
But Labour peer Lord Harris of Haringey, who is chairman of the National Preparedness Commission, said: “I wonder whether her department is being a tad complacent in talking simply about monitoring the threat rather than looking at what practical arrangements can be made.
“For example, how do we deal with a drone which is flown over a reservoir and deposits something in there?
“The panic effects of that being known to have happened and not necessarily knowing what the substance is would be enormous.”
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Lady Hayman said: “Tackling the diverse range of state threats – not just drones but many other threats – requires a cross-government and cross-society response.
“We need to draw on the skills, the resources and the remits of different departments and operational partners.
“In Defra, we work closely to look at the threats and the appropriate levels of response, specifically drawing on expert advice from the National Protective Security Authority, the National Cyber Security Centre and the Home Office, as well as carrying out threat assessment with policing partners.”
Former Metropolitan Police chief Lord Hogan-Howe, who led the UK’s largest force from 2011 to 2017, said: “For about 15 years, I have been worried about the water supply – the large and small reservoirs, the pipes that connect them and, of course, the water treatment plants.
“I worry that there is sometimes confusion between the Home Office, Defra and others about who is looking after security.”
The independent crossbencher added: “It needs to be higher in the priorities than it presently appears.”
In reply, the minister said: “I can assure him that we discuss these matters with the Home Office.
“One thing that we have been trying hard to do in Defra and other departments since we came into government is to work better across Government.”
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.