Terrorists pose an “absolutely huge threat” to the people of Kent, warns an influential Tory MP.
Gravesham representative Adam Holloway made the claim after the House of Commons’ defence committee, of which he is a member, criticised the Ministry of Defence for leaving the UK coastline vulnerable to attack.
The committee said that because no single body was responsible for protecting it, the defences available for maritime security tended to be reactive, rather than proactive, forces.
News of the concern came just a day before a report into the July 7 London bombings was published, revealing that severe shortages in MI5 personnel led to possible terror suspects never being investigated.
Mr Holloway, who fought in the Gulf War with the Grenadier Guards, told Kent on Sunday that counter-terrorism was of the utmost importance.
He said: “Some of my constituents think I’m obsessed with the war on terror and with Iraq and Afghanistan, but to me it’s one of the biggest issues affecting them.
“Since 9/11 this country has gained a growing number of enemies and there are hundreds of people in the UK who have received training at terror camps. They would like nothing more than to cause mass casualties and they don’t care how many people they could kill.
“Thousands of my constituents go to work in London, go shopping at Bluewater and travel across the Channel from Dover, so it’s a big issue for me. I think the threat of terrorism against us all is absolutely huge.”
Earlier this week the defence committee expressed concern at the small number of vessels dedicated to maritime security, and also at the arrangements for co-ordinating the forces concerned.
Just nine Royal Navy ships along with a collection of 130 police and coastguard boats are tasked with guarding a shoreline that is more than 7,000 miles long.
Kent has one of the longest and most varied coasts in the country, with more than one-third of its residents living in coastal districts such as Sheerness, Whitstable, Dover and Margate.
Mr Holloway said: “I was listening to the evidence in the defence committee meeting and I just couldn’t believe there was not one single body responsible for protecting the shoreline.
“In the absurdly unlikely event that I became the Secretary of State for Defence and I received intelligence of a sea-borne attack, where would I go to? To the coastguard or the police? The Royal Navy? The RNLI?
“We have all these different organisations with different information and responsibilities but it all seems utterly disjointed.”
The Conservatives say the November 2008 Mumbai attacks – during which gunmen arriving by boat killed more than 170 people – could be replicated in the UK and have called for a full review of the UK’s defensive capability.
But an MoD spokesman said: “We welcome the publication of this report and its recognition of the vital and unique contribution the Armed Forces makes to national security.
“The recommendations are broadly in line with work already underway by the MoD. The Government will provide a full response to the committee in the normal way in the coming weeks.
“The assertion that no one is in charge of maritime security is a massive oversimplification. Maritime security has many different elements. For example, the MoD is responsible for protecting our waters against any overseas threat, while the Home Office would be responsible in the face of a terrorist attack.
“We do not believe there is likely to be an emergency situation where a Government department misunderstands what the military could deliver.”
Mr Holloway is not the first influential figure in Kent to voice his concerns about terrorism.
Earlier this year Assistant Chief Constable Gary Beautridge revealed how the large number of iconic sites in the county made it a prime target.
POSTED: 24/05/2009 15:00:00
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