The Terrorist Hunters
Encyclopedia
The Terrorist Hunters is a controversial non-fiction book by former senior police officer Andy Hayman
, co-written by Margaret Gilmore
, about Hayman's role as head of the Metropolitan Police
's Specialist Operations
Division. The British
Attorney General
, Baroness Scotland QC
, sought, and initially won, a High Court injunction
against the publication of the book. The book was reported to have sold 2,500 pre-order copies before the injunction was issued.
and the investigation it sparked as well as the role of the UK's security services, particularly the Met and MI5
in combating terrorism
in the years after the attacks, though it also covers the investigation into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
The Terrorist Hunters is highly critical of the government's emergency committee, known as COBRA, of which Hayman was often a member, for spending "too much time discussing politics and not enough on urgent operational matters." Hayman describes COBRA in the book and in interviews with The Times as "cumbersome, bureaucratic and overly political."
Hayman also discusses Sir Ian Blair, former Met Commissioner
, whom he described as a friend but of whom he later became highly critical in relation to a statement by the commissioner regarding the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes
, a Brazil
ian national who was mistakenly shot dead by CO19 officers on the London underground
after being misidentified as a suicide bomber
the day after the failed 21 July 2005 London bombings
. He also questions whether his role and the role of other intelligence and emergency service officials attending the meetings were taken seriously enough and recalls an exchange with Patricia Hewitt
, then Secretary of State for Health
during a COBRA meeting in the immediate aftermath of the 7 July bombings, about the number of scenes at which the bombers had struck.
The Terrorist Hunters goes on to deal with events in 2007, when an attack
was launched on Glasgow International Airport
on the same day as two attempted car bombing
in London
. Hayman praises Strathclyde Police
for their cooperation in the subsequent investigations, though is critical of Alex Salmond
, then Scottish First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party
, accusing Salmond of waging a "turf war" over control of the Glasgow suspects in "some amazing playground antics", a claim which was strongly refuted by Salmond and the SNP.
Within the book, Hayman also calls for an official public inquiry into the events of 7 July, 2005.
. The reason given for the injunction was "legal reasons relating to ongoing criminal proceedings", the Crown Prosecution Service
fearing a passage in the book might influence jury members of a pending trial. When the injunction ran out the book returned to sale unedited and a paperback edition was published in October 2009.
MI5
, MI6 and the Crown Prosecution Service
for approval, prompting Met Commissioner
Sir Paul Stephenson to suggest the Metropolitan Police Authority
, the force's governing body, review whether senior officers should be allowed to publish such books in the future. The book, published by Bantam Press
was serialised
in British broadsheet
newspaper
The Times
prior to its release.
Andy Hayman
Andrew Christopher "Andy" Hayman, CBE, QPM is a retired British police officer and author of The Terrorist Hunters. Hayman held the rank of Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police, the highest ranking officer...
, co-written by Margaret Gilmore
Margaret Gilmore
Margaret Gilmore is a journalist, broadcaster, writer and analyst. She frequently broadcasts, writes and lectures on security issues and is an Associate Fellow with the lead UK security think tank Royal United Services Institute ....
, about Hayman's role as head of the Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
's Specialist Operations
Specialist Operations
Specialist Operations is a directorate of the Metropolitan Police. At its peak, SO was a group of twenty specialist units, which were formed to give the Metropolitan Police a specialist policing capability. The SO designation was implemented in 1986 as part of Sir Kenneth Newman's restructuring of...
Division. The British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Attorney General
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
, Baroness Scotland QC
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
, sought, and initially won, a High Court injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
against the publication of the book. The book was reported to have sold 2,500 pre-order copies before the injunction was issued.
Narrative
The primary focus of The Terrorist Hunters is on the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated suicide attacks in the United Kingdom, targeting civilians using London's public transport system during the morning rush hour....
and the investigation it sparked as well as the role of the UK's security services, particularly the Met and MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
in combating terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
in the years after the attacks, though it also covers the investigation into the murder of Alexander Litvinenko.
The Terrorist Hunters is highly critical of the government's emergency committee, known as COBRA, of which Hayman was often a member, for spending "too much time discussing politics and not enough on urgent operational matters." Hayman describes COBRA in the book and in interviews with The Times as "cumbersome, bureaucratic and overly political."
Hayman also discusses Sir Ian Blair, former Met Commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
, whom he described as a friend but of whom he later became highly critical in relation to a statement by the commissioner regarding the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes
Jean Charles de Menezes
Jean Charles de Menezes was a Brazilian man shot in the head seven times at Stockwell tube station on the London Underground by the London Metropolitan police, after he was misidentified as one of the fugitives involved in the previous day's failed bombing attempts...
, a Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian national who was mistakenly shot dead by CO19 officers on the London underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
after being misidentified as a suicide bomber
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
the day after the failed 21 July 2005 London bombings
21 July 2005 London bombings
On 21 July 2005, four attempted bomb attacks disrupted part of London's public transport system two weeks after the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The explosions occurred around midday at Shepherd's Bush, Warren Street and Oval stations on London Underground, and on a bus in Shoreditch...
. He also questions whether his role and the role of other intelligence and emergency service officials attending the meetings were taken seriously enough and recalls an exchange with Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hewitt
Patricia Hope Hewitt is an Australian-born British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Leicester West from 1997 until 2010. She served in the Cabinet until 2007, most recently as Health Secretary....
, then Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health
Secretary of State for Health is a UK cabinet position responsible for the Department of Health.The first Boards of Health were created by Orders in Council dated 21 June, 14 November, and 21 November 1831. In 1848 a General Board of Health was created with the First Commissioner of Woods and...
during a COBRA meeting in the immediate aftermath of the 7 July bombings, about the number of scenes at which the bombers had struck.
The Terrorist Hunters goes on to deal with events in 2007, when an attack
2007 Glasgow International Airport attack
The 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack was a terrorist attack which occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
was launched on Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport
Glasgow International Airport is an international airport in Scotland, located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire...
on the same day as two attempted car bombing
2007 London car bombs
On 29 June 2007, in London, two car bombs were discovered and disabled before they could be detonated. The first device was left near the Tiger Tiger nightclub in Haymarket at around 01:30, and the second was in Cockspur Street, in the same area of the city....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Hayman praises Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police
Strathclyde Police is the territorial police force responsible for the Scottish council areas of Argyll and Bute, City of Glasgow, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire and West...
for their cooperation in the subsequent investigations, though is critical of Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
, then Scottish First Minister and leader of the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
, accusing Salmond of waging a "turf war" over control of the Glasgow suspects in "some amazing playground antics", a claim which was strongly refuted by Salmond and the SNP.
Within the book, Hayman also calls for an official public inquiry into the events of 7 July, 2005.
Injunction
On 1 July, 2009, the English High Court issued a temporary injunction against the sale of The Terrorist Hunters after a hearing requested by Baroness Scotland QC, the Attorney GeneralAttorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
. The reason given for the injunction was "legal reasons relating to ongoing criminal proceedings", the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
fearing a passage in the book might influence jury members of a pending trial. When the injunction ran out the book returned to sale unedited and a paperback edition was published in October 2009.
Publication
Prior to its release, copies of The Terrorist Hunters were provided to the Cabinet OfficeCabinet Office
The Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
MI5
MI5
The Security Service, commonly known as MI5 , is the United Kingdom's internal counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its core intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service focused on foreign threats, Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence...
, MI6 and the Crown Prosecution Service
Crown Prosecution Service
The Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
for approval, prompting Met Commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
Sir Paul Stephenson to suggest the Metropolitan Police Authority
Metropolitan Police Authority
The Metropolitan Police Authority is the police authority responsible for supervising the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London ....
, the force's governing body, review whether senior officers should be allowed to publish such books in the future. The book, published by Bantam Press
Bantam Press
Bantam Press is an imprint of Transworld Publishers which is a British publishing division of Random House.It is based on Uxbridge Road in Ealing near Ealing Broadway station, the same address as Transworld....
was serialised
Periodical publication
Periodical literature is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar examples are the newspaper, often published daily, or weekly; or the magazine, typically published weekly, monthly or as a quarterly...
in British broadsheet
Broadsheet
Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages . The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of material, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
prior to its release.