UK knew it was coming

The initial indication that pro-al Qaeda terrorist elements were planning a major terrorist strike in London came in August last year following the arrest in Lahore by the Pakistani authorities of one Mohammad Naeem Noor Khan, a Pakistani computer expert, who used to live partly in London and partly in Pakistan.

During his interrogation, he admitted that he was working for al-Qaeda as a communications expert and that he used to transmit all messages from Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda leaders in a coded form to al-Qaeda cadres in different countries. He also reportedly told the Pakistani authorities that al-Qaeda had planned a terrorist strike at Heathrow airport in London.