MI5 Recruiting in Manchester

[Declan]

MI5 are recruiting in Manchester through the Mancester Online website! Please see the following link-

http://www.manchesteronline.co.uk/link/bounce.cfm?featuresrecruiters=t rue&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.manchesteronline.co.uk%2Fls%2Fgmgmanol%2Fjobs %2Fresult%3ForgId%3D944632166

This makes the 'Unspinning the Truth' event even more pertinent now! We must get the message out to these prospective recruitees before it's too late!

Does anybody have a copy of yesterday's Manchester Metro News, Trafford edition? Apparently there's an ad in there too, and they are going to target fitness centres and women in particular.

[mason-free party]

so Manchester the next false flag target?

[paul wright]

They were apparently operational in Leeds in advance of 7/7
It would be a reasonable summation to make

[TimmyG]

can we do anything to use the next false flag attack to our advantage?
does anyone know how to find out about terror drills in manchester?

maybe we should try and join mi5. although they probably have files on us

[Mark Gobell]

Perhaps they're running a bit thin on patsies ?

[Declan]

I was talking to someone I know who says he was recently involved in a crisis management meeting in Stockport in which participants were asked to think about things that could go wrong in Stockport and how it could be managed. Or was it, what went wrong in Stockport?

[mason-free party]

Is the North West prepared?


People in the North West have lived with the consequences of terrorism for longer than the years post 9/11.
The region has dealt with IRA bombings, raids on suspected terrorist cells, and a number of aircraft "near miss" incidents at Sellafield nuclear plant.

Add to that major security lapses at Manchester Airport, explosions under cars and security scares at football grounds, and you could be forgiven for being concerned about the threat of a terrorist attack.

But the country now lives with another terror threat - the fear of a so-called "dirty bomb" bringing large-scale death and destruction.


But despite all this, in December 2003 Chief Const Michael Todd was concerned enough to warn the public that Manchester was the greatest potential terrorist target in the UK.

"The terrorist threat is real, it is great, and it's here," he told the BBC.

But security operations were scrutinised before the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and police now have the ability to evacuate large parts of the city centre within minutes.

Police in Manchester can now send evacuation alerts by text message to people on an emergency call out, within 30 seconds of an explosion.

It is hoped these measures will protect residents from a repeat of the IRA attacks in the 1990s.

Manchester city centre was devastated by an IRA bomb on 15 June 1996, when the 3,300lb (1,497kg) device exploded, leaving more than 200 people injured and wiping out 1m sq ft (92,903 sq m) of shopping space.

And in Warrington, three-year-old Johnathan Ball and Tim Parry, 12, were killed and 56 people injured when bombs were detonated in Bridge Street on 20 March 1993.


Could the North West cope with a CBRN attack?
After the events of September 11, the World focused on a different sort of terrorism, where extreme groups don't call the authorities to warn them of impending disasters.

And although the authorities claim to be well prepared, just how prepared can you be for any large-scale emergency?

George Kowalczyk from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Manchester said agencies have been preparing for a major terrorist attack for the last 10-15 years.

"The whole exercise is down to how the agencies work together - it's impossible to plan for different scenarios, but you can plan for how you would work together.

"We go through quite complex and extreme scenarios about what we would do in the event of an attack. It's an improving progress."

A spokesman from Greater Manchester Ambulance Service said it was "well prepared" for a Chemical, Biological, Radiological or Nuclear (CBRN) incident, saying it has "decontamination units strategically placed across Greater Manchester ready to respond in an emergency situation." SITUATION AROUND THE UK


But a short supply of decontamination units in the region could lead to people turning up at hospitals without prior treatment.

Decontamination would be led by the fire service which is primarily in charge of decontamination at the scene of an attack.

There have been practical operations in the last few years - hundreds of soldiers, police officers, paramedics and firefighters were involved in 2003's Operation Diamond Dagger, to test reaction in the event of a terrorist attack.

But Greater Manchester Multi-Agency Review Group are not planning any live exercises in next 12 months.

Merseyside Police said it was "normal practice" to train officers regularly.

A spokeswoman said: "In terms of strategies we are training all the time.

"We have strategies in place but to deal with a CBRN attack but obviously we don't want to go into too much detail."

We have staff that are trained and can be called upon if needs be. All details are largely irrelevant

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service
Police in Lancashire plan to double the number of officers trained to deal with a "dirty" attack by January 2005.

However, a spokesman admitted their resources had not yet been tested, with no trial runs to "test the county's response properly."

In all counties, the local council's multi-agency strategies are in charge of major incident planning.

Despite claiming they are well-prepared, the government is loathe to give out specific information, saying it "does not feel that this kind of information is in the public domain" (Government News Network).

Mersey Regional Ambulance Service would not confirm how many staff they had trained to deal with a CBRN attack, saying: "We have staff that are trained and can be called upon if needs be. All details are largely irrelevant."

Vulnerable targets

The Police Federation came back with a similar response, maintaining that officers would always be at the forefront of an attack.

"We are certainly at a far higher state of readiness than we were three years ago," spokesman Paul Kelly said.

Sites that are particularly vulnerable to an attack have undertaken their own security measures in recent years.

In Merseyside, the Port of Liverpool has undergone strict security checks, as have the Mersey Tunnels.

Planning ahead of Liverpool's European Capital of Culture role in 2008 will undoubtedly involve strict security measures and evacuation plans.

There's much more likely to be an accident than there is to be a chemical attack

Dr Richard Jackson
At Sellafield, new security structures are soon to be put in place, and since the 2001 attacks in New York and Washington DC, the no-fly zone around nuclear sites in the UK has doubled.

But not everyone in the region thinks these preparations are necessary.

Dr Richard Jackson, lecturer in Security Studies at The University of Manchester, told the BBC that terrorists are unlikely to use chemical weapons.

"The reality is that it is an extremely minor threat - there's much more likely to be an accident than there is to be a chemical attack.

"I'm sure these agencies are prepared for large scale chemical spills - and if they are prepared for that, they are certainly prepared for an attack."

This article is intended as an overview for the North West region. For further information visit the related internet links on the right hand side of the page.

[Declan]

I think the only 'dirty bombs' we need to worry about are the ones we using in Iraq! But I'm probably Al Qaeda because I say that, and depleted uranium is probably good and nutritious for the troops!