Police and secret service officers are carrying out background checks on thousands of scientists without their knowledge, amid fears terrorists are targeting British laboratories to obtain deadly viruses.
The vetting, which includes checks on family backgrounds, political views and associates, is part of a review of some 800 laboratories in hospitals, universities and private firms where staff have access to incurable viruses such as ebola.
– The Telegraph
Convicted Islamist terrorists are exploiting the growing gang culture in top security jails, fuelling fears that they are trying to radicalise other inmates and foment unrest.
The emerging contacts between terrorists and existing gangs in jails is occurring as the Prison Service is expecting a big increase in the number of terrorists it must look after in the next few years. The growing concern among senior Whitehall officials at the danger of Islamist terrorists seeking to radicalise other prisoners in eight top security jails is disclosed in a Ministry of Justice document.
– The Times
Hopes for a ceasefire in Iraq’s developing Shia civil war were swiftly undermined last night when the Government said that it would not stop attacking outlaw militia members despite an offer from militia leaders to freeze the conflict.
Fierce fighting went on in areas of Basra loyal to Hojatoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr, despite the rebel cleric’s call to his militiamen to put down their weapons. In Baghdad mortars continued to slam into the green zone government compound.
– The Times
