Web FeedsHero Cop May Have Saved Scores Of Lives
Sky News sources say one of the first police officers on the scene of the London West End car bomb may have saved dozens of lives by defusing the explosives before the bomb squad arrived.
It is believed the quick-thinking cop recognised that the car was wired to blow up, jumped in and disconnected the trigger device, thought to be a mobile phone.
This backs up an eye-witness account of a police officer briefly entering the metallic green Mercedes before running for cover.
People are being warned to stay vigilant after the discovery of the "massive" car bomb, which could have killed hundreds of nightclub revellers.
The device, which contained 60 litres of petrol, a large amount of nails and several gas canisters, was found in the Mercedes early this morning.
Park Lane has also been closed to traffic due to a suspect vehicle in an underground car park that police believe is connected to the attempted bombing in Haymarket.
Sky News crime correspondent said: "It might be the escape vehicle of the Mercedes driver, or it might be the vehicle of an accomplice, but it is turning into something very significant."
Fleet Street was also briefly closed after the discovery of another suspect vehicle, but has now reopened.
Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said the UK is "currently facing the most serious and sustained threat" and authorities are doing everything they can to protect the public.
Police believe they have foiled a major terror attack and said if the bomb had gone off it could have caused "significant injury or loss of life".
Police received reports of a suspicious vehicle close to the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Piccadilly shortly before 2am.
An ambulance crew, who treated a person in the club in an unrelated incident, reported that there was smoke inside the car.
The bomb was near the popular Regent Street shopping area, and security sources say it could have been timed to coincide with Gordon Brown's first day as Prime Minister.
An eyewitness said a man had crashed the vehicle into bins near Tiger Tiger and then ran off, before the alarm was raised.
The timing coincided with hundreds of revellers leaving nightspots, but police said there was no intelligence to suggest such an attack.
The massive quantity of petrol along with several propane gas cylinders could have combined to create a large explosion.
There was so much petrol in the vehicle that the highly flammable vapour it gave off is believed to have looked like smoke.
Former Scotland Yard commander Roy Ramm told Sky News the bomb was specifically designed to cause as many casualties as possible.
"It was clearly an anti-personnel device," he said.
"You don't put nails in a bomb to bring down buildings, you do it to kill people."
The area was cordoned off by officers who examined the metallic green car, outside an American Express foreign exchange, and then discovered the device.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke, head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command, paid tribute to those who manually defused it, saying they had not only saved lives but gave forensic officers the opportunity to gather a substantial amount of material.
He said it was too early to speculate about who was involved, and called on the public to remain vigilant.
Officers have appealed for witnesses who may have seen anything suspicious in the Haymarket area last night and early this morning. The number is 0800 789 321.
Extra police patrols are taking place across London following the incident.
Whitehall sources said that the police and security services are looking at possible international links - including similarities to car bombs used by insurgents in Iraq.
Mr Brown said the incident reminds us that Britain faces "a serious and continuous threat" and the public "need to be alert" at all times.
The Haymarket is in the heart of London's theatreland, which is packed with thousands of people through most of the day and night.
Police have begun an investigation and the suspect vehicle was removed from the scene for detailed forensic examinations.
Detectives will be looking at CCTV footage from the area surrounding the Haymarket and interviewing witnesses, including staff from the nightclub.
Congestion charge cameras, which recognise number plates and run 24 hours a day, will be able to track the route of the vehicle into the capital.
Former head of the Flying Squad John O'Connor said the attacker had most probably "bottled it" and was likely to be a homegrown terrorist.
There has been major traffic disruption to the area, with several roads shut, along with Piccadilly Circus Tube station.
The Home Secretary chaired an emergency Cobra meeting about the terror scare and then briefed the Cabinet.
Enhanced security measures have been put in place at the Houses of Westminster in the wake of the incident.
The discovery of the car bomb comes just under two years since suicide attacks killed 52 people in the capital.
Another 784 were injured when four bombs exploded on London's transport network on July 7, 2005.
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