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American Morning
Terror Raid in England Turns Deadly
Aired January 15, 2003 - 09:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A terror raid in England turned deadly when a suspect linked to the ricin investigation fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman. The raid happened last night in Manchester, England.
Matthew Chance today from London joins us with more on what went down there.
Matthew, hello.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
And in fact, I'm up in Manchester, in the north of England, just outside the premises where this raid took place and where this killing took place, a killing which is really underlined the already acute fears in Britain of the threat of terrorism. It's also the first time, of course, a British law enforcement officer has been killed since the September 11th attacks in the U.S. however. At any rate, on a terrorist, antiterrorist operation.
It's also a deadly twist in that ongoing ricin poison saga. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of that highly toxic substance discovered at a flat in north London last week. Five men said to be of North Africa, of North African origins, arrested then. Another three have been detained here, Again, all North Africans.
In what's become something of a nationwide investigation to try and crack a terror cell, which police say, they believe, may have been planning or may still be planning some kind of terrorist chemical attack inside Britain. Tony Blair has been among the first public figures to condemn the killing of the police officer, but he said, this killing would not set back Britain's antiterrorism efforts. Here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Once again, we see the courage and commitment that police officers to the service of our country and the dangers they face daily on our behalf. This was someone I met when he worked with my security team on visits to the northwest. His family has lost a very fine man, and the community has lost a very fine police officer. Someone whose death we mourn, whose death should redouble our determination to tackle terrorism in all of its forms.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHANCE: Well, forensic teams here in Manchester are continuing their work, going through neighboring apartments to the one they raided yesterday, trying to find more evidence that could lead them to other locations, not just in Manchester, but across the country -- Bill.
HEMMER: Matthew, is there a suggestion that something is being hidden inside this apartment which led to the assault? That's the first question. Secondly, was there any traces of evidence at all that ricin was inside that apartment?
CHANCE: Let me answer the second question first. Police have said categorically, that throughout their forensic tests so car, they found absolutely no trace of ricin in Manchester. The reason they raided the apartment, to answer the first question, was because they had leads, they had evidence they gained from the flat in north London, which led them to believe there was an individual here who may have been link to do that group arrested in London. They've moved in, they've arrested that individual and two others as well, unfortunately, at the loss of one of their own police officers.
HEMMER: Matthew Chance in Manchester, England for us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired January 15, 2003 - 09:41 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: A terror raid in England turned deadly when a suspect linked to the ricin investigation fatally stabbed an unarmed policeman. The raid happened last night in Manchester, England.
Matthew Chance today from London joins us with more on what went down there.
Matthew, hello.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
And in fact, I'm up in Manchester, in the north of England, just outside the premises where this raid took place and where this killing took place, a killing which is really underlined the already acute fears in Britain of the threat of terrorism. It's also the first time, of course, a British law enforcement officer has been killed since the September 11th attacks in the U.S. however. At any rate, on a terrorist, antiterrorist operation.
It's also a deadly twist in that ongoing ricin poison saga. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of that highly toxic substance discovered at a flat in north London last week. Five men said to be of North Africa, of North African origins, arrested then. Another three have been detained here, Again, all North Africans.
In what's become something of a nationwide investigation to try and crack a terror cell, which police say, they believe, may have been planning or may still be planning some kind of terrorist chemical attack inside Britain. Tony Blair has been among the first public figures to condemn the killing of the police officer, but he said, this killing would not set back Britain's antiterrorism efforts. Here is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Once again, we see the courage and commitment that police officers to the service of our country and the dangers they face daily on our behalf. This was someone I met when he worked with my security team on visits to the northwest. His family has lost a very fine man, and the community has lost a very fine police officer. Someone whose death we mourn, whose death should redouble our determination to tackle terrorism in all of its forms.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHANCE: Well, forensic teams here in Manchester are continuing their work, going through neighboring apartments to the one they raided yesterday, trying to find more evidence that could lead them to other locations, not just in Manchester, but across the country -- Bill.
HEMMER: Matthew, is there a suggestion that something is being hidden inside this apartment which led to the assault? That's the first question. Secondly, was there any traces of evidence at all that ricin was inside that apartment?
CHANCE: Let me answer the second question first. Police have said categorically, that throughout their forensic tests so car, they found absolutely no trace of ricin in Manchester. The reason they raided the apartment, to answer the first question, was because they had leads, they had evidence they gained from the flat in north London, which led them to believe there was an individual here who may have been link to do that group arrested in London. They've moved in, they've arrested that individual and two others as well, unfortunately, at the loss of one of their own police officers.
HEMMER: Matthew Chance in Manchester, England for us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
