Why Glasgow was already in the frontline of the UK's "war on terrorism"

2 July 2007

In light of the recent attacks on London and Glasgow, Director of WSI Brussels Mark Burgess writes that Glasgow Airport has already been the scene of an earlier episode in the UK's ongoing battle against Islamic terrorists.

In a sense, the unsuccessful double bomb attack on London of 29th June comes as no surprise Of all the UK's cities, the capital is naturally the most likely to attract such an attack. Mercifully, it is also one of the best-placed to deflect, absorb, and recover from such an event. The spirit of the Blitz may be currently overstated (if indeed it ever existed to the degree often imagined) - but London has a scale of resources that most other British cities lack when it comes to its police and other emergency services and a status that will greatly assist in any response and rebuilding.

If London is an obvious target, Glasgow is perhaps less so. Despite being Scotland's largest city, and the third most populous in the UK, a terrorist attack there would lack the impact of a similar strike in London.

It is still too early to say for sure why Glasgow Airport was singled out in the failed bomb attack of 30th June. There has been some speculation that the fact that the newly incumbent UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown is a Scot may be the reason why the country attracted the ire of al-Qaeda or their fellow travellers (currently chief suspects in the bombing attempts). There are also reports that the UK intelligence services warned in April of a possible terrorist strike (timed to coincide with Gordon Brown's taking over from Tony Blair as UK Prime Minister) by Iranian-Kurds - suggesting they may have been behind last weekend's events.

This may yet prove true. However, Glasgow Airport has already been the scene of an earlier episode in the UKs ongoing battle against Islamic terrorists. Regardless of whether this played a role in its being targeted, it should be a key consideration in any response by the UK government.

Mohammed Atif Siddique, who was arrested in April last year at his home in Clackmannanshire, Scotland for alleged terrorist offences, had been detained at Glasgow Airport as he tried to board a flight to Pakistan with his uncle. The two men where subsequently released, only to be re-arrested by police the next day. Atifs brother, Asif , along with another uncle, Mohammed Niaz were also detained at this time. Of the four, only Atif remained in police custody, with the others being released without charge.

Atif was subsequently charged with offences under Section 58(1b) of the Terrorism Act 2000 at a specially convened court in Falkirk. He is claimed to have declared himself to be a member of al-Qaeda and to have threatened to become a suicide bomber, and accused of possessing documents containing terrorist propaganda. These reportedly included information on the use of various weapons system, bomb-making, terrorist tactics, surveillance techniques, suicide operations, and a list of terrorist training camps.

Atif is also claimed to have provided instruction and training in the use or making of firearms and explosives via three websites he set up and maintained, and said to have alarmed fellow students at the Glasgow Metropolitan College by showing them images of suicide bombers, beheadings, and other murders.

Atif, whose trial was announced in April, and is expected to take place at the High Court in Glasgow on 2oth August, denies the charges against him.

Regardless of whether he proves to be innocent of these offences - which are alleged to have been committed between 2003 and 2006, in his home, Ibrox Library, Glasgow Metropolitan College, and Glasgow Airport - the authorities' treatment of his case has already caused anger in the community from which he hails.

In addition, a few weeks after Atifs arrest senior members of Scotland's Pakistani community approached Sir Willie Rae, the chief constable of Strathclyde Police, and complained about the number of innocent Muslims they claimed were being detained at Glasgow Airport. Ashrad Anjum, the president of Glasgow Central Mosque - the largest in Scotland - had reportedly approached the chief constable the previous month in response to a growing number of such incidents being reported to him.

As yet it is unclear if such grievances are behind the specific targeting of Glasgow Airport - or even related to it. Indeed emerging reports suggest that those detained in the follow-up investigation are of middle eastern descent and not home-grown terrorists as was initially feared.

Strathclyde assistant chief constable John Neilson has told local Muslim leaders:

The people we have in custody came to Scotland a short while ago. I'm sure the community in Glasgow in particular will be reassured - these are not your young people.

Yet, regardless of how the current investigation plays out, the fact remains that Glasgow was already involved in the UK so-called 'war on terrorism' even before Saturday's attack. This should inform the government's actions.

Despite the indicators of foreign involvement, it would be foolish to rule out inquiries within the UK's Muslim community. Yet, clearly, a ham-fisted approach could easily inflame matters. As such, the authorities must tread carefully, as with all such cases. Meanwhile, should the terrorists indeed prove to be something other than British, while not an unworrying development in itself, this will be a cause for some relief among the UK security services.

Any imported threat will likely prove easier to counter than a homegrown one. Handled correctly, it could also help limit any potential "victimisation" of the UKs indigenous Muslim communities - or charges thereof. It could likewise help provide a rallying point in the face of the terrorist threat, uniting rather than dividing the British population. If it does, the terrorists' strategic thinking could yet prove as limited as their tactical abilities currently appear to be.

First posted on the WSI Brussels Blog.  By Mark Burgess, Director of the World Security Institute, Brussels.