Woolwich London terror attack?

[Magda Hassan]

Woolwich attack: David Cameron under fire as MI5 terrorism blunders emerge

David Cameron visited MI5 headquarters to thank spies for their work on the Woolwich terror case a day the after murder of Drummer Lee Rigby despite concerns about the failings of security services.

In other developments:
* The family of Drummer Rigby visited the scene of his murder in Woolwich, where both his mother and sister were so overwhelmed by grief that they collapsed on the roadside.
* Theresa May, the Home Secretary, said the attack was not the work of a "lone wolf" as four other men were arrested by police over the weekend in connection with the murder.
* Hate clerics could be barred from appearing on broadcasters such as the BBC under government plans to expand the powers of Ofcom, the watchdog.
* Lord Howard, the former Conservative Home Secretary, suggested Labour and the Tories join forces to push through a "snoopers' charter" against the wishes of the Liberal Democrats.
* Kenyan officials said they arrested one of the suspected killers two years ago with a group of alleged terrorists but British authorities had failed take the matter seriously. [My bolding MH]
On Thursday Mr Cameron announced that the Intelligence and Security Committee would carry out an independent investigation into what the intelligence services knew about the alleged killers.
After visiting the scene of the murder in Woolwich, he then paid a trip to security services headquarters on Millbank. He thanked staff for the work their work on the investigation and other counter-terrorism successes.
However, a senior Westminster source suggested that it was a mistake to go there so soon after the tragedy and amid concerns about potential intelligence failings.
Michael Adebolajo, 28, had been known to the security services and police for a decade and was arrested six years after violent protests by extremists outside the Old Bailey six years ago.
In November 2010 he was arrested in Kenya after being caught trying to travel to Somalia, allegedly to join the terrorist network Al-Shabaab.
Kenyan authorities say they returned him to British intelligence officers, who failed to take their concerns seriously. The second suspected killer, Michael Adebowale, 22, was also known to police and the intelligence services.
One senior Westminster source suggested the visit was a mistake. He said: "I just wonder what he was going to thank them for. While they [the Security Services] did tremendously well during the Olympics 10 months ago a number of pieces of information have come to light since then. The interesting question is how much David Cameron knew about the potential intelligence failings when he went to see them."
A source said Mr Cameron's did not "exonerate" the intelligence agencies during his visit to their headquarters.
The source said: "He wanted to thank them for the work they had done both on that particular operation - there had been a lot of people working around the clock - but also more generally.
"The work that they do is obviously highly secretive but the Prime Minister is one of the few people who gets to see the effects of that work.
"The idea that he was either blaming the security services or exonerating them when an investigation into what happened actually hasn't taken place isn't right."
Mr Cameron today travelled to Ibiza, where he is spending a week long holiday in a privately rented villa with his family.
A Downing Street source said: "He is on a week holiday with his kids. He has some office support with him to remain full update in terms of what's going on at home.
"The primary focus now is the investigation which is going on, which is being led by police and security services not by the governments.
"There was a Cobra on Thursday but there aren't any more scheduled in. He remains in charge of the country."
John Mann, a Labour MP, said: "People expect him to be at his desk leading from the front. It is inappropriate that he is away, it suggests that he thinks he can run the country from a beach in Spain.
"Does anyone think Margaret Thatcher or Tony Blair would disappear at a time like this?"
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, will take a holiday next weekend while Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, has opted for a holiday in Britain over the Bank Holiday.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/t...merge.html