Photo triggered instant alarm in Whitehall

AN EXTRAORDINARY photograph received by the Evening Standard at lunchtime yesterday sparked the dramatic chain of events which led to the terror raids and the resignation of Met Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick.

The picture, which arrived at about 1.15pm, showed Mr Quick, Britain's anti-terrorist officer, carrying a secret briefing paper containing extensive details of an al Qaeda inspired plot into Downing Street.

The image was on open view to all the photographers outside No 10 and, with a deadline looming, a story on his gaffe was prepared for publication.

Aware there appeared to be a risk that a major anti-terrorist operation could be jeopardised, the Standard contacted a senior Whitehall source at 1.35pm to warn that a photograph of the confidential document was likely to be already circulating within the British and international media.

The call triggered immediate alarm, an admission that the planned operation was imminent and of extreme importance and a request to halt publication to allow the raids, which at that stage were planned for early today, to take place first. Evening Standard agreed.

Within minutes, amid near panic in Whitehall, the director general of MI5, Jonathan Evans, had become personally involved and urgent efforts initiated to prevent other media outlets from publishing the information and potentially wrecking a major operation.

Soon after, a D-notice — guidance issued by the Ministry of Defence which restricts publication of information on national security grounds — was placed on British media.

But the damage was already done because the photograph was also available via international news organisations so a decision to bring the raids forward was rapidly taken, despite the extra risks that might entail. The raids now appear to have been conducted successfully, but, despite this, Mr Quick's survival as Britain's top anti-terrorist officer was impossible.

While his supporters, including former Mayor Ken Livingstone, insist his mistake was a forgivable human error, the reality is that it could have had catastrophic consequences both for public safety and anti-terror efforts.

To begin with, the blunder meant that instead of the raids taking place when the suspects were at home sleeping — when the risk to the public from any clash with armed officers would be minimised — the arrests had to be carried out at a range of locations, including a university, where members of the public could have been put in danger.

Equally seriously, there is also the risk that if the suspects had got wind of the raids key evidence could have been destroyed before the operation began.

On top of all this, Mr Quick already faced controversy over his handling of the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green and his subsequent outburst in which he accused the Conservatives of deliberately smearing him.

Both these issues raised questions about his judgment and meant it was inconceivable he could survive under a future Conservative administration.

This morning it became clear he would not make it to the end of the day, never mind a general election.