MI5: We will have new 7/7

Give 7/7 dead two minutes' silence

By Sarah Newar

SPOOKS at MI5 have warned the 7/7 bombings WILL happen again—because they don't have enough spies.

A disturbing report will reveal intelligence services are overstretched and have failed to penetrate Muslim terror groups.

It says another bombing is a CERTAINTY unless gaps are plugged.

Three attacks have been thwarted since the London bombings. And another six possible plots are being monitored now.

But intelligence agents have told MPs there must be other undetected terror cells who will succeed.

An official enquiry into 7/7 by the super-powerful Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee concludes that MI5 failed to infiltrate radical British Muslims because of a severe "resource problem".

Spy chiefs are still desperately short of surveillance teams, undercover agents and translators.

The committee's report, published on Thursday, will reveal that at one stage just 20 agents were trying to keep tabs on 400 terror suspects linked to al-Qaeda.

And surveillance on 7/7 ringleader Mohammad Sidique Khan, 31, was called off because of lack of manpower.

He recruited Hasib Hussain, 18, Shehzed Tanweer, 22, and Jermaine Lindsay, 26, for the suicide bombings.

The report warns Britain will face another attack unless MI5—still geared to fighting decades of Irish terrorism—is overhauled.

Danger

The committee, made up of MPs and chaired by former Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy, examined top-secret papers and heard evidence from senior spies.

They are the only independent body monitoring the security and intelligence services and have full access to its shadowy commanders.

Their report is important because it is the only authoritative inquiry into the 7/7 bombings.

It concludes that MI5 had too many white, middle-class agents who could not work undercover in tight-knit Muslim communities.

And although the intelligence budget doubled since the New York attacks in 2001, the money was too late to stop the bombings here.

A senior intelligence source told the News of the World: "With Irish terrorism there was a clear pattern. With Islamic extremists it is harder to tell whether these are kids talking tough, bigots or genuine terrorists.

"That is why another attack will happen at any time."

Tory homeland security spokesman Patrick Mercer said: "There is no doubt that there is a clear and present threat. The only priority now for the security services is the prevention of further Islamic fundamentalist attacks."

"There are continued warnings of attacks in Britain by Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. These have to be taken seriously."

He added: "I am waiting to see how much truth we are going to get from the government about these events.

"After 9/11 and the Madrid bombings both the American and Spanish governments carried out extensive independent inquiries.

"All we are getting is a narrative which has come from the hands of civil servants and a heavily-censored report by MPs.

"It is crucial we have an independent inquiry before we are attacked again."

THE News of the World today demands that the victims of the 7/7 London suicide bombings are remembered with a two-minute silence.

The 52 people murdered in the bloodiest terrorist attack in British history DESERVE a fitting tribute.

Last year Britain came to a standstill in respect exactly a week after the atrocity. Response to that silence, organised by London Mayor Ken Livingstone, was a magnificent success at the bombing scenes and across the country.

But relatives of the victims have been pressing the government for an official silence on the one-year anniversary.

Now with less than two months to go nothing has been finalised. And The News of the World is demanding action.