By Toby Helm, Chief Political Correspondent (Filed: 12/11/2002)

Tony Blair placed the country on heightened alert for a possible terrorist attack last night as fears grew that al-Qa'eda and other extremist groups may be planning to strike at British targets. Tony Blair: 'It is a war I have total confidence we will win'

The Prime Minister called on the public to be "alert" and "vigilant"', while stressing that it was vital for everyone to carry on their lives, wherever possible, as normal.

"At the moment hardly a day goes by without some new piece of intelligence coming via our security services about a threat to UK interests," Mr Blair said in a speech to the Lord Mayor's Banquet in Guildhall, London.

While no specific threats were mentioned, he made clear there had been some credible information among a mass of material received by the intelligence services.

"Some if it will be reliable. Some of it may be misinformation being fed in to waste our time chasing shadows. Some of it will be gossip."

Mr Blair went on: "This kind of material is crossing the desks of the intelligence agencies, my desk, the Home Secretary's desk, all the time and other nations are in exactly the same position."

He warned that the dangers from terrorism and weapons of mass destruction in the hands of dictators such as Saddam Hussein, were linked.

"Would al-Qa'eda buy weapons of mass destruction if it could. Certainly. Do they have the financial resources. Probably. Would they use them. Definitely.

"Terrorism and WMD [weapons of mass destruction] are linked dangers. States which are failed, which repress their people brutally, in which notions of democracy and the rule of law are alien, share the same absence of rational boundaries to their actions as the terrorist."

Referring to last Friday, when the United Nations voted unanimously on a new regime of inspections in Iraq, as "an important day for the world", he said Saddam had to decide if he wanted to disarm voluntarily. "Or he can defy the world, in which case he will be disarmed by force."

All civilised nations needed to "reach out to the Arab and Muslim world" to help reduce tensions. The most urgent tasks were to advance the cause of peace in the Middle East and to encourage failed nations to recover. Bridges also had to be built between religious faiths.

Downing Street would not say whether specific new threats of terrorist attacks on British targets had been received in recent days.

Nor would officials be drawn on whether the overall threat was perceived by intelligence services to be higher now than during other periods since September 11.

"It is as high as this time last year," said the Prime Minister's spokesman. But the fact that Mr Blair chose to issue the warning was seen as a sign of growing nervousness at the highest levels of government.

The war on terror was a "new type of war, fought in a different way by different means", said Mr Blair. "It is a war I have total confidence we will win, but will not be without pain or come without a price."

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2002

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European Ferry Ports Placed on Alert European Ferry Ports Placed on Heightened State of Alert After Warning of Possible Terror Attack

The Associated Press

L O N D O N, Nov. 12 — Many European ferry ports were on a heightened state of alert Tuesday for possible terrorist attacks following a warning of a possible strike last weekend, port and government officials said.

British authorities said they were conducting random searches of trucks and questioning drivers at ports including Dover on England's south coast. Stepped-up security was also reported at Baltic Sea ports in Scandinavia.

David Osler, industrial editor of shipping newspaper Lloyd's List, said several European ports had recently increased security amid fears of a truck-bomb attack.

"We have seen in a number of continental European ports security being stepped up over the weekend, largely because of these very fears," he said.

Hans-Joergen Bonnichsen, a senior official of the Danish Civil Security Service, said that there was a warning last week tied to "a specific day Nov. 9 or read backward 9/11."

"That is what made it interesting," Bonnichsen said.

"On Nov. 7, the Dutch police and port authorities received information about a possible attack against ferry and ship traffic in Europe on Saturday, Nov. 9. We have since done whatever we could to have that verified. We failed to get it confirmed and chose to inform all relevant parties to avoid creating unnecessary panic," Bonnichsen said.

The BBC reported that French and Dutch security services had warned that terrorists might drive an explosives-laden truck onto a ferry heading for Britain.

The BBC said ferry ports had been placed on "heightened emergency" alert not the highest level, but the highest since the ratings system was established.

"We've received several pieces of information indicating that ports around the country, including Dover, need to further tighten up their security in the run-up to Christmas," Port of Dover security chief Robin Dodridge told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.

The British government said the security alert was not the result of a specific, credible warning. On Tuesday, the Department for Transport released the text of a note sent on Friday by its Transport Security Section to the maritime industry.

"Despite the recent warnings from the French and Dutch authorities of a possible terrorist act against ferries, we do not assess that there is any credible information or intelligence in support. Threat levels to British maritime interests remain unchanged," the British advisory said.

"However, due to the heightened security environment generally, we would remind you of the need to maintain increased vigilance, to continue to operate the recently enhanced security measures and to report any significant developments," the advisory said.

Governments in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania stepped up port security following a general warning last week from several European law enforcement agencies that terrorists could try to place a bomb aboard a passenger ferry, Latvian Security Police spokeswoman Kristina Apse said.

Security is especially sensitive for officials in Vilnius, Latvia, who are preparing for a possible visit later this month by President Bush.

Border guards at ports in the coastal nations said they have been ordered to search ships and passenger ferries, as well as vehicles aboard several ferries that arrive daily to the Latvian and Estonian capitals from Finland, Germany and Sweden.

"We're paying a lot more attention to ships arriving from military conflict zones and also vehicles on ferries," said Rokas Pukamskas, an inspector with Lithuania's State Border Guard Service.

Authorities in Denmark, Finland and Sweden also tightened security in ports following the warning.

Italy's Defense Ministry, however, said Tuesday that no higher security measures were being implemented in Italian ports.

Dodridge said ports had received a general request to tighten security last week, with Dover also receiving a vague bomb threat on Friday.

"In accordance with our set procedures, we carried out an intensive search of the port," he said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Tony Blair said British people should be vigilant against terrorism, but not allow fear to distort normal life.

"If a terrorist thought that all he had to do to shut down the travel industry, for example, was to issue a threat against our airports, we really would be conceding defeat in the war against terrorism," Blair told the annual Lord Mayor's banquet in London's financial district.

He said barely a day went by without new intelligence about a threat to British interests, that some of the information is reliable, but some may be misinformation or gossip.

-- Anonymous, November 12, 2002