2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid

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The 2 June 2006 Forest Gate raid saw the arrest of two men at their east London homes in Forest Gate by police acting on intelligence that they might be terrorists in possession of a chemical bomb. One of the men was shot during the raid, but the subsequent inquiries cleared the officers involved of any wrongdoing. No explosive devices were found during the raid or afterwards. The cost of the operation exceeded two million pounds, and the men were released without charge.

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[edit] The raid

Early on Friday, 2 June 2006, police raided two houses on Landsdown Road, Forest Gate, London, acting on intelligence that there was a chemical weapon located at the premises.[1] Under the authority of the Terrorism Act, they arrested brothers Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, and Abdul Koyair, 20.[2] During the raid, Kahar was shot in the shoulder (some sources mention "chest"[3] based on Mr Kahar's comment of "There was blood coming down my chest."[4]) by the police and was taken to the Royal London Hospital. Initial press rumours suggested that he had been shot by his brother,[5] but the police later stated that the shot had been fired accidentally by the armed officer leading the operation.[6] 250 police officers were involved in the raid.[7]

In the same raid, an unnamed and unrelated family, renting a neighbouring terraced house from the father of the two arrested men, was also raided in conditions that have been described by their lawyer as "as lawless as the wild west".[8]

Nearby roads were closed to the public for several days whilst investigations were carried out,[9] and a prohibition on aircraft flying below 2,500ft was imposed on the area.[1] However, no chemical materials were found[10] and the two brothers were released without charge in the evening of 9 June.[11] After the two men gave a press conference on 13 June, the Metropolitan Police apologised for the "hurt" caused.[12]

The Metropolitan Police revealed under freedom of information legislation that what was known as Operation Volga had cost £2,211,600, including £864,300 on overtime payments for the dozens of police officers involved, £90,000 on hotel bills, and £120,000 for repairs to the damage caused to the houses by the police.[13][14]

It has been alleged that a British Muslim, Abu Bakr Mansha, who was jailed in January 2006 on terrorism charges and who grew up in the neighbourhood had provided the intelligence "trigger" for the raid,[15] although this has been denied by his lawyer.[16]

[edit] Protests

Protests by Muslim groups were held outside Scotland Yard on Friday 9 June [17][18] and on Sunday 11 June, where a sister of those arrested said that she hoped that the protests would "highlight the fact no other innocent family should be forced to go through the same nightmare".[19]

On 18 June 2006, approximately 5000 people from a broad cross-section of local communities marched throughout Newham to Forest Gate Police Station in a protest against the violent nature in which the raids had taken place.[20] The march was organised by a coalition of local groups, including the main support group to the families Newham Monitoring Project.

[edit] Reactions

Reactions to the raid were mixed. Scotland Yard's Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman said that they had "no choice but to act"[10] but also apologised for the "disruption and inconvenience" the raid caused.[21] The Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the releases, but hoped "lessons would be learned".[22]

Prime Minister Tony Blair supported the police "101%", saying that "You can only imagine if they fail to take action and something terrible happened what outcry would be then, so they are in an impossible situation."[23] The prime minister also defended Police chief Ian Blair, when several papers called on him to resign over the raid.[24] A solicitor for the two men said that they plan to sue the Metropolitan Police,[25] for a figure which lawyers estimate could be as high as £500,000,[26] but at a press conference on 13 June 2006 Abdul Kahar said that suing the police was "not even in our heads", and they were more interested in an apology.[12] As of 21 July 2006, he had not yet returned to the house.[27]

[edit] Inquiries

The shooting was referred to Independent Police Complaints Commission,[28] who have prepared a leaflet about its enquiry for distribution to homes and other locations in the area.[29] On 10 July 2006, the IPCC confirmed that there would be a second inquiry regarding claims made by neighbours of the house raided.[30]

On 3 August 2006, the Independent Police Complaints Commission concluded that the shooting was an "accident". They said that based on forensic evidence, "there is no evidence of intent or recklessness on the part of the firearms officer and that no offence was committed in the firing of the weapon." Scotland Yard released a statement saying it regretted that an accidental discharge had caused injury.

It also emerged on 3 August that Mohammed Abdul Kahar had been arrested by police on suspicion of making pornographic pictures of children, and was in custody at a London police station. He strenuously denied the allegations.[31] On the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service, no charges were brought against him.[32]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b Raid police hunt chemical device (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-03). Retrieved on June 7, 2006.
  2. ^ Police await shot terror suspect (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-05). Retrieved on June 7, 2006.
  3. ^ Reaction to raid brothers' claims (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-13). Retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  4. ^ Raid brother tells of death fears (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-13). Retrieved on July 15, 2006.
  5. ^ "Police terror shooting questioned" (HTML), BBC News, 2006-06-04. Retrieved on June 30, 2006.
  6. ^ "Terror raid shooting accidental, say police" (HTML), The Times, 2006-06-05. Retrieved on June 7, 2006.
  7. ^ "Men in gas masks, a broken window, then a single shot" (HTML), The Guardian, 2006-06-04. Retrieved on June 13, 2006.
  8. ^ Audrey Gillan and Hugh Muir. "Lawyer condemns 'wild west' police raid" (HTML), The Guardian, 2006-06-05. Retrieved on June 7, 2006.
  9. ^ Rajeev Syal and Sean O'Neill. "Police struck rapidly after chillingly precise tip-off" (HTML), The Times, 2006-06-03. Retrieved on June 7, 2006.
  10. ^ a b House raid police had 'no choice' (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-07). Retrieved on June 7, 2006.
  11. ^ Two held in terror raid released (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-10). Retrieved on June 10, 2006.
  12. ^ a b Raid police apologise for 'hurt' (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-13). Retrieved on June 13, 2006.
  13. ^ Steele, John. "'Chemical bomb' raid that found nothing cost £2.2m", The Daily Telegraph, 2006-10-03. Retrieved on October 12, 2006.
  14. ^ Forest Gate terror raid cost £2m (HTML). BBC News. Retrieved on October 3, 2006.
  15. ^ Boniface, Susie. "Was MI5 Trigger for Bungled Terror Swoop... A Prisoner with IQ of 69", The Sunday Mirror, 18 June 2006. Retrieved on October 12, 2006.
  16. ^ "Terror raid intelligence denial", BBC News, 24 June 2006. Retrieved on October 12, 2006.
  17. ^ Muslims protest over terror raid (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-09). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  18. ^ Michael Horsnell. "Family's fears at East London terror protest" (HTML), The Times, 2006-06-09. Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  19. ^ Muslims protest over terror raid (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-11). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  20. ^ Marchers demand apology over raid (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-18). Retrieved on June 18, 2006.
  21. ^ Adam Fresco. "Scotland Yard apologises for terror raid disruption" (HTML), The Times, 2006-06-08. Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  22. ^ Opinion divided as brothers freed (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-11). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  23. ^ Blair defends police terror raid (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-03). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  24. ^ Met chief defended amid raid row (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-12). Retrieved on June 13, 2006.
  25. ^ Terror raid pair may sue police (HTML). BBC News (2006-06-11). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  26. ^ David Leppard. "'Terror raid' brothers could get £500,000 in damages" (HTML), The Sunday Times, 2006-06-11. Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  27. ^ Mr Kahar interviewed on Today Program (RAM). BBC News (2007-07-21). Retrieved on July 21, 2006.
  28. ^ IPCC to Investigate Forest Gate Firearms Incident (HTML). Independent Police Complaints Commission (2006-06-02). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  29. ^ Independent Police Complaints Commission Update Leaflet for East London Residents (HTML). Independent Police Complaints Commission (2006-06-08). Retrieved on June 11, 2006.
  30. ^ Second inquiry into terror raid (HTML). BBC News (2006-07-10). Retrieved on July 10, 2006.
  31. ^ "Terror raid shooting 'accidental'" (HTML), BBC News, 2006-08-03. Retrieved on August 3, 2006.
  32. ^ "No charges for Forest Gate victim" (HTML), BBC News, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on August 3, 2006.
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