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Terror chief warns of 9/11 style attacks on Britain by bombers in private jets UK
Daily Mail Private jets could be hijacked and used as 'vehicle bombs' to target the public, the Government's anti-terror chief has warned. Due to current lax security at small airports, such attacks would be 'relatively simple' to orchestrate, according to Lord Carlile of Berriew in report on how the UK is dealing with the terror threat. The warning, which is detailed in a 60-page review, has sparked fears that Britain has been left open to a terrorist attack similar to the September 11 attacks in 2001 on New York and Washington DC. Thousands of small, rented planes capable of travelling at high speeds between EU countries and the UK should be subjected to much stricter checks, he has said. There are an estimated 8,500 private aircraft and up to 500 'landing sites' in Britain - ranging from farmers' fields to regional airports. Despite the large numbers of aircraft, security authorities do not make any official checks on who is landing and taking off from Britain's airfields. Once an aircraft is airborne it is monitored by the Civil Aviation Authority although it is sometimes not clear where a flight has originated from. Lord Carlile also said he was concerned about the thoroughness of checks that were made on planes and executive jets which into British airspace every day. In addition many senior police officers have expressed 'real anxiety' over the possibility of light aircraft being launched from small airports in a 9/11 style attack. He claimed that current security was lax or non-existent in many of them and that as a result terrorism could be conducted with 'relative simplicity'.
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