DAILY MIRROR PLANTS FAKE BOMB ON 1/5 KILOTON MUNITION TRAIN
Islamic Community Net
Mon Jan 15, 2007
 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/islamiccommunitynet/message/11574


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EXCLUSIVE: MIRROR EXPOSES APPALLING AMMO SECURITY
By Tom Parry
Daily Mirror
15 January 2007
 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=exclusive%2D-mirror-exposes-appalling-ammo-security%26method=full%26objectid=18470907%26siteid=94762-name_page.html

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photo:
"This train is loaded with 200 tonnes of artillery shells, bullets, grenades and mortars, and I've just planted a BOMB' "
A MIRROR journalist holds a fake bomb as he stands by an unguarded train filled with Army explosives - exposing a horrifying security blunder.
 http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/m2/jan2007/3/1/256F9282-A9D6-67B2-366D5C7F5B39B1CE.jpg
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Mirror exposes appalling ammo security

The MoD train, containing up to 200 tons of artillery shells, bullets, grenades and mortars for soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan, was in a supposedly high-security yard plastered with "keep out" signs.

But undercover reporter Tom Parry and photographer Roger Allen were able to walk off the mainline platform at Didcot Parkway station, Oxfordshire, and wander over to the train as it waited in sidings.

Neither man had ID papers but merely wore rail worker-style orange overalls and hard hats - easily available at any hardware store.

Entrance to the yard is meant to be strictly restricted by a security gate which can only be opened by using an access code that is frequently changed. Parry and Allen bypassed the system by strolling off the platform, crossing the main rail line which is virtually unused in the early hours and strolling into the yard with their fake detonator.

Several contractors and drivers were milling around - but they barely glanced at the Mirror pair.

The train, which had stopped en route to a Royal Navy transport ship in Marchwood, Hants, was left exposed for more than an hour. During that time Parry and Allen were not questioned once about who there were or why they hanging around the train.

A railway source said: "It is breathtakingly easy to get close to the ammo trains, a walk across the tracks from the platform and you're there. People would assume it is the most closely-guarded train in the land but in fact it's just like any other freight train.

"If someone wanted to sabotage it or hold up the military supply line, they wouldn't need to overpower anyone."

MPs yesterday said the Mirror's investigation had shown the ammo trains were scandalously vulnerable.

Lib Dem Shadow Defence Secretary Mick Harvey said: "This is a mess-up of mind-boggling proportions. It is an utter scandal that the supply chain for munitions is open to attack by anyone half-organised. The government must act immediately to ensure the trains are secured."

Tory Homeland Security spokesman Patrick Mercer said: "The government has got to realise that it must take transport security and ammunition security much more seriously."

Defence expert Mike Yardley said: "It is good that the Daily Mirror has called attention to this. There is always the possibility someone using an improvised explosive device could ignite one of these containers. This is an obvious terror target."

The revelation comes less than six months after the Mirror told how trains carrying deadly nuclear waste to Sellafield were at risk of terrorist attack after being left similarly unguarded at stations.

A steady flow of military vehicles, tanks and back-up supplies passes through Didcot.

The cargo our team targeted on Friday originated at Scotland's Glen Douglas military depot. Glen Douglas is NATO's largest weapons base in Europe, with a 40,000 square metre storage capacity for explosives.

It is used by the armed forces to stock ammunition during major conflicts and is also home to Trident nuclear submarines.

The train paused at Carlisle then Wigan, Warrington, Crewe and Walsall. It pulled into Didcot on time at 4.26am.

After leaving the yard the train was scheduled to go through Reading, Basingstoke and Winchester. A bomb timed to explode in any of these densely-populated areas could cause unimaginable carnage.

In June 1944 Soham, Cambs, was devastated when fire on an ammunition train detonated two five ton bombs. Two men died. A year later, an ammo wagon exploded near Bootle, Merseyside, leaving a 45ft deep crater.

English, Welsh and Scottish Railway, the freight company contracted to the MOD, now faces an inquiry over the security lapse.

The MoD said: "We have already taken up this issue with EWS."

A company spokesman added: "EWS will conduct a review of its operational arrangements and security procedures. If sensible enhancements can be made, these will be implemented."

 tom.parry@mirror.co.uk

 http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_headline=exclusive%2D-mirror-exposes-appalling-ammo-security%26method=full%26objectid=18470907%26siteid=94762-name_page.html