This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7991307.stm
The article has changed 30 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Next version
| Version 9 | Version 10 |
|---|---|
| Police chief quits over blunder | Police chief quits over blunder |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer has resigned after making a security blunder which caused an anti-terror operation to be brought forward. | Britain's most senior counter-terrorism officer has resigned after making a security blunder which caused an anti-terror operation to be brought forward. |
| Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick was photographed revealing a secret document when he arrived for a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday. | |
| Mr Quick said he "deeply regretted" the disruption caused to colleagues and was grateful they had reacted so quickly. | Mr Quick said he "deeply regretted" the disruption caused to colleagues and was grateful they had reacted so quickly. |
| Twelve men were detained in raids in Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire. | Twelve men were detained in raids in Manchester, Liverpool and Lancashire. |
| 'Lives at risk' | |
| Security expert Peter Taylor told the BBC there were concerns a terror cell had been formed which was ready to attack, possibly using an improvised explosive device. | |
| Fearing suspects could have been tipped off about the plans, some hours after the Downing Street incident hundreds of officers from the north-west counter-terrorism unit carried out the raids. | |
| FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme In pictures: Terror raids | FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme In pictures: Terror raids |
| The operation had gone ahead in the afternoon on Wednesday rather than 0200 BST on Thursday, Peter Taylor said. | |
| The BBC's home affair's correspondent Daniel Sandford said the change of timings had "put public lives at risk" because it was undertaken when people were awake and in public areas. | |
| Searches are continuing at addresses in north-west England after hundreds of officers swooped on 10 properties. | |
| Ten of those arrested are Pakistan-born nationals on student visas and one is a UK-born British national. | |
| In a statement, Mr Quick said: "I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counter-terrorism operation. | |
| Daniel Sandford | Daniel Sandford |
| BBC home affairs correspondent | BBC home affairs correspondent |
| What happened yesterday was something that put public lives at risk. Partly because an operation had to be brought forward quickly and that, potentially, if it turns out to be a genuine plot then the trial may not go as they would have planned. | What happened yesterday was something that put public lives at risk. Partly because an operation had to be brought forward quickly and that, potentially, if it turns out to be a genuine plot then the trial may not go as they would have planned. |
| But more importantly, the way the arrests had to be carried out put students' lives at risk; the normal way of arresting people is dawn raids in their homes, completely contained with houses surrounded by officers. | But more importantly, the way the arrests had to be carried out put students' lives at risk; the normal way of arresting people is dawn raids in their homes, completely contained with houses surrounded by officers. |
| But the pictures showed students being held up in a university library while people are being arrested outside a glass window. You can't think of a more risky situation in which someone could be arrested. | But the pictures showed students being held up in a university library while people are being arrested outside a glass window. You can't think of a more risky situation in which someone could be arrested. |
| If the police had had to open fire, where might the bullets have gone? If the person that they were arresting had been carrying some sort of weapon what kind of threat might that have posed? | If the police had had to open fire, where might the bullets have gone? If the person that they were arresting had been carrying some sort of weapon what kind of threat might that have posed? |
| The fact that his actions, in having a paper so broadly exposed in front of the cameras, led them having to make arrests in that kind of dangerous situation just shows why it is that he's had to go this morning. | The fact that his actions, in having a paper so broadly exposed in front of the cameras, led them having to make arrests in that kind of dangerous situation just shows why it is that he's had to go this morning. |
| "I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised timescale." | |
| The senior officer has faced intense criticism from opposition politicians after revealing the confidential document to photographers after arriving for the Number 10 briefing in his anti-terrorism role and for the Association of Chief Police Officers. | |
| The memo, marked "secret", carried an outline briefing on an ongoing counter-terror operation. | |
| It contained the names of several senior officers, locations and details about the nature of the overseas threat. | |
| Mayor of London Boris Johnson said it was "with great sadness" that he had accepted Mr Quick's resignation. | |
| He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme the senior officer had a "very, very distinguished" career and that the memo incident had been "extremely unfortunate". | |
| There had been no witch hunt or effort to hound him out, he said. | There had been no witch hunt or effort to hound him out, he said. |
| The mayor confirmed Assistant Commissioner John Yates would replace Mr Quick as head of counter-terrorism. | The mayor confirmed Assistant Commissioner John Yates would replace Mr Quick as head of counter-terrorism. |
| Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson paid tribute to Mr Quick who he said had "served with dedication and professionalism throughout his career". | Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson paid tribute to Mr Quick who he said had "served with dedication and professionalism throughout his career". |
| "I hold Bob in the highest regard, as a friend and colleague, and that opinion has not changed. | |
| "He has accepted that he made a serious error and that has led to his resignation this morning." | |
| 'Right thing' | 'Right thing' |
| In a statement, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she had been informed of Mr Quick's resignation by Sir Paul. | In a statement, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she had been informed of Mr Quick's resignation by Sir Paul. |
| "Although the operation was successful, he felt that his position was untenable. I want to offer my sincere appreciation of all the outstanding work he has done in this role," she said. | "Although the operation was successful, he felt that his position was untenable. I want to offer my sincere appreciation of all the outstanding work he has done in this role," she said. |
| Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said resigning was "the right thing to do". | Shadow home secretary Chris Grayling said resigning was "the right thing to do". |
| "It is unacceptable for Britain's most senior anti-terrorist officer to have had such an extraordinary lapse in judgement," he said. | "It is unacceptable for Britain's most senior anti-terrorist officer to have had such an extraordinary lapse in judgement," he said. |
| "To put the security of his police officers and the operation at risk has rendered his position untenable." | "To put the security of his police officers and the operation at risk has rendered his position untenable." |
| Mr Quick has remained a controversial figure since ordering the arrest of senior Tory MP Damian Green over alleged security leaks last year. | |
| In December, he apologised after accusing the Conservatives of involvement in newspaper stories about his wife's hire car business. | |