A full inquiry into the 7th July bomb attacks should be held as soon as possible, Liberal Democrat Leader Ming Campbell said today.
Sir Menzies also questioned why the government briefed in the aftermath of the attacks that the bombers were unknown to the security service.
He was speaking after the conclusion of the fertiliser bomb plot trial at the Old Bailey and the revelation that there were links between the accused men and the 7th July bombers.
The Liberal Democrats have also put down an urgent question in Parliament, demanding that John Reid makes a statement to MPs at the earliest possible opportunity.
Menzies Campbell said:
“The information revealed in this trial will spark widespread public concern and debate about the operational capabilities of the security service, and the reliability of government information in the aftermath of the 7th July bombings.
“While the security service has a difficult role to play and cannot be expected to succeed every time, serious questions must be asked about key operational decisions.
“We must also question government briefings after 7th July which asserted that the bombers were ‘clean skins’, when we now know that this was not true.
“Those questions would be best answered if a full and independent inquiry, consisting of Privy Counsellors, were to be established as soon as possible by the Government. The precedent for this is the Butler inquiry, which examined the use of intelligence in relation to military action against Iraq.
“It is essential that the terms of reference of any inquiry are sufficiently wide to enable examination of all relevant issues and access to all necessary information.”
There’s no point in an inquiry. MI5 works beyond the law. It’s news like this which lends credence to the people who have claimed for years now that MI5 were responsible for the plot so as to keep the never ending war on terror going. Meanwhile our serious fraud office drops investigations into Saudi money kickbacks while defense firms rake continue to rake it in.