Muslim house raid wrong but justified: UK police chief
Regional-UK, Politics, 7/1/2006

Britain's most senior police chief contradicted himself Thursday in admitting that his force got it "wrong" in a bungled raid in east London but claimed that the anti- terrorism operation was "justified."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair also insisted that anti-terrorist police will need to mount raids in the future similar to that carried out in Forest Gate earlier this month, during which 23-year-old British Muslim Mohammed Abdul Kahar was shot.

"This time we did not find what we were looking for and it seems we were wrong," Blair said in giving evidence to the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA).

"Once again I apologize for the harm and disruption caused," he said.

But he also argued that on the raid, he was "perfectly content it was justified" and that it was "carried out extremely well by the Metropolitan Police." The raid by 250 officers, some dressed in chemical weapons suits, provoked outrage among Britain's 1.8 Muslim community, with calls for community leaders to withdraw their cooperation with the police until they showed more respect.

Kahar and his 20-year-old brother Abul Koyair were arrested and detained for questioning under the country's terrorist laws for seven days before being released without charge.

"There will be other raids but the lesson of Forest Gate is that we have to find new methods of engaging with the Muslim community, in particular to reassure them of the necessity and appropriateness of police actions," the police commissioner said.

He said it was his view that the police should find leading figures in the Muslim community "who will be able to examine our methodology, our intelligence assessments and decision-making before major operations." "We have to find a new mechanism because we have to go on protecting London," the MPA was told.

In its report on the controversial raid, the Metropolitan Police Authority insisted that intelligence for the raid had come from a "credible sensitive source" who in the past had provided "corroborated information." It denied that 250 officers entered the house, saying there was no more than 35 officers in the property.

It added that "all possible steps" had been taken to confirm or deny the intelligence before the pre-dawn raid took place.

"Further delay was not believed to be acceptable given the threat to public safety and the fear that if the intelligence is correct there was no guarantee the device would remain at the location leading to a loss of control," the report said.

Previous Stories:
  Muslim family thought police raid were armed burglars   (6/14/2006)
  UK partner in crime with US on rendition flights   (6/14/2006)
  Muslim family angry at UK police house raid   (6/10/2006)

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