| London Underground Terrorism Alert from Metropolitan Police | |||
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| Netlore Archive: Email rumor circulating in the wake of the 7/7/05 terror bombings claims another attack on the London underground is expected 'within the next week' | |||
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Email example contributed by Paul H., 15 July 2005:
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Subject: [data-protection] IMPORTANT INFO REGARDING LONDON UNDERGROUND - STATEMENT BEING ISSUED FROM MET Apologies for those not in London C IMPORTANT INFO REGARDING LONDON UNDERGROUND - STATEMENT BEING ISSUED FROM MET PLEASE SEE - The Metropolitan Police will be strongly advising everyone that the they will be putting officers on tube stations 24/7 for the next week as they highly expect another attack within this time. The police force have been in meetings all morning and will be publicly confirming this later on this evening. They will be advising the public to avoid the tube at all costs for the time being. This news will filter through to the media in the next few hours and if it is not in the Evening Standard it will be on the 24 hour news channels. Please take care on your journeys home, please pass this on to as many people as you know who use the Underground. Piccadilly Circus & Leicester Square were closed for 3 hours earlier today (14/07/2005) and the bomb squad carried out a minor controlled explosion around the station area - this is going on all over Central London. PLEASE BE CAREFUL TRAVELLING |
Comments: As in the weeks and months following the 9/11/01 terrorist attack on the U.S., a real event which took a stunned populace by surprise — in this case, the terrorist bombing of the London underground on July 7, 2005 — is followed by false Internet rumors claiming advance knowledge of another attack.
Whether the author of the above email wrote it in good faith, believing rumors transmitted from another source, or whether it is a hoax fabricated for the express purpose of frightening Londoners, we do not know. What we do know is that the London Metropolitan Police were asked by the BBC to comment on the accuracy of the email and responded, "we are not aware of any specific threat at this time."
BBC News further quoted this police statement:
"Following the attacks of 7 July, extra policing patrols have been put in place across London, with officers from the MPS, City of London Police and British Transport Police providing visible reassurance, advice and support, and also to act as a deterrent."All police forces are reviewing their own counter-terrorist plans, undertaking community assessments and considering appropriate extra patrols in potentially vulnerable areas and transport hubs."
Sources and further reading:
Fake Emails Claim More Attacks
BBC News, 15 July 2005London Rocked by Terror Attacks
BBC News, 7 July 2005Metropolitan Police Service - Response to Terrorist Attack in London
News and updates concerning terror attacks in the London underground
Last updated: 07/15/05
