Some informed British sources believe that the recent London Transport bombings may have been the work of far right-wing British terrorists hoping to stir up tensions with the nation’s large Muslim population.
There are several reasons for this belief. One is that GCHQ and MI-5 intercepts of the communications of Muslim groups in Britain and abroad—groups suspected of ties to militants—revealed that targeted individuals and organizations were genuinely surprised at the London bombings. Another is the statement of former Metropolitan London police commissioner Sir John Stevens that the perpetrators were “almost certainly” British. Although many accused Stevens of stirring up racial tensions, he never referred to British Muslims. British Prime Minister Tony Blair ruled out any probe of the bombings claiming it would “distract” from the investigation.
Although U.S. and some British media were quick to point blame at Muslim terrorists, little has been mentioned about David Copeland who set off a nail bomb in the Admiral Duncan pub on Old Compton Street in London’s Soho in April 1999. The bomb killed three and injured 139. Copeland, a 22-year old electrical engineer and native of Hampshire, wanted to start a war against non-whites and homosexuals and believed he was a messenger from God. Copeland had a fascination with Adolf Hitler and dreamt of being an SS commander holding women sex slaves. Copeland was also charged with setting off nail bombs in an Afro-Caribbean neighborhood in Brixton and a Bangladeshi district in Brick Lane. The British police dismissed a claim of responsibilty for the Soho bombing by a fascist group called the White Wolves, emphasizing that Copeland acted alone. It is also significant that when he planned his terrorist bombings, Copeland worked as an electrician on the London Underground’s Jubilee Line extension project. Copeland was sentenced to six life terms in prison for the bombings.
There are reports that some members of British law enforcement and intelligence maintain a liaison with British fascist groups who are mainly centered in the Kentish Town neighborhood of north London, a neighborhood rife with Nazi posters, stickers, and graffiti. In addition to Kentish Town, Roetherhithe and Eltham in southeast London are bevies of fascist activities. British fascist groups include the British National Front, National Socialist Movement, and ex-members of Ulster paramilitary loyalist groups. Another fascist group, Combat 18, was established in 1992 as a security force for the National Front. It was later discovered that MI-5 had infiltrated Combat 18 to slip informants into loyalist paramilitary cells in Northern Ireland.
Informed observers also point to the David Tovey case. In 2002, police searched Tovey’s Oxfordshire home in an investigation to find the source of a spate of racist graffiti. According to The Guardian, police discovered much more than spray paint cans in Tovey’s home: an arsenal of weapons (including a Baikal pistol with silencer), explosives (including PE4 plastic explosive, which is used by the British Army), bomb making equipment, NATO body armor, maps where mosques were located, British National Front literature, and license plate numbers of African and Asian individuals. Police learned that Tovey was involved in a right-wing gang that was placing anti-white graffiti in public toilets in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire. As with Copeland, police said they determined Tovey was a loner.
On July 12, The Times of London revealed that the explosives used in the London Transport bombings were military-grade explosives and investigators emphasized they believed the bombers were British and worked in small cells. Furthermore, although the British police are putting out information that suicide bombers were involved in the London bombings, Vince Cannistraro, the former CIA counter-terrorism chief, told The Guardian that “two unexploded bombs” were recovered along with “mechnical timing devices.” It goes without saying that suicide bombers would not have been using timing devices.
The belief that British right-wing terrorists may have carried out the London train bombings coincides with a major Italian investigation of ties between far-right Italian groups, Italian law enforcement personnel, U.S. Defense Department covert operations agents, and Jihadist terrorists.
Wayne Madsen is a Washington, DC-based investigative journalist and nationally-distributed columnist. He is author of the forthcoming book, “Jaded Tasks: Big Oil, Black Ops & Brass Plates.” He is the editor and publisher of the Wayne Madsen Report.
