Political Reaction
Prior to the arrests, the plot was discussed at a high level of government, with then Prime Minister Tony Blair knowing about it for months, and alerting President George W. Bush to the investigation on Sunday 6 August 2006.
On 9 August, hours before the arrests, the then Home Secretary John Reid gave a major speech to Demos (a British think-tank) hinting at a new round of anti-terror legislation and claiming that the country was facing "probably the most sustained period of severe threat since the end of the second world war". The following day Reid broke the news along with Douglas Alexander, the Transport Secretary.
Read more about this topic: 2006 Transatlantic Aircraft Plot
Famous quotes containing the words political and/or reaction:
“... whatever men do or know or experience can make sense only to the extent that it can be spoken about. There may be truths beyond speech, and they may be of great relevance to man in the singular, that is, to man in so far as he is not a political being, whatever else he may be. Men in the plural, that is, men in so far as they live and move and act in this world, can experience meaningfulness only because they can talk with and make sense to each other and to themselves.”
—Hannah Arendt (19061975)
“In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)