LONDON : British police are keeping tight-lipped about an
alleged plot by fathers' rights extremists to kidnap Prime Minister
Tony Blair's five-year-old son Leo.
The Wednesday edition of the Sun mass-circulation newspaper first
disclosed details of the alleged plot that was apparently in its
early stages, and the BBC reported later that a police source had
confirmed its existence.
However, the BBC's source said police were not convinced that those
involved in the plot had the ability to carry it out.
The Sun said the plot was hatched by "extremist sympathisers" of
the Fathers 4 Justice group, which mounts high-profile campaigns
for fathers' rights to their children following custody
battles.
Britain's biggest-selling daily said "vigilante dads" aimed to
snatch Leo Blair and hold him hostage for a short period to
"highlight the plight of fathers denied access to their
kids".
Both London's Metropolitan Police and Blair's Downing Street office
were refusing to confirm or deny the story.
A Met Police spokeswoman told AFP: "We're not commenting on this at
all. We don't discuss matters of security. We're not prepared to
discuss this in any way, shape or form."
The Sun cited an unnamed security source as the basis for its
dispatch. Blair and his wife Cherie were said to have been told and
were "concerned", it added.
Detectives from the Met's Special Branch -- which has amongst its
functions investigating extremism and terrorism -- has been
monitoring the "lunatic fringe" of Fathers 4 Justice, The Sun
said.
The group's founder Matt O'Connor said its operations had been
suspended pending investigations and vowed he would not let the
group be "hijacked" by extremists.
"There's evidence to support the fact that there was something
going on, because SO13 officers (the Met's anti-terrorist unit) had
visited some ex-members of the organisation over the Christmas
period," he said.
"That had set alarm bells ringing."
O'Connor said police contacts had said SO13 "were threatening to
shoot people if they did anything in the region of Downing
Street".
He added: "I have three young boys myself and couldn't think of
anything more traumatic for Mr Blair, his family and his son.
"If our position is constantly undermined by extremists, we will
shut down the Fathers 4 Justice campaign.
"I will not let this organisation be hijacked by militants.
"We do peaceful direct action with a dash of humour. We're in the
business of uniting dads with their kids, not separating them," he
said.
Graham Dudman, The Sun's managing editor, told the BBC: "The police
took this very seriously because, of course, Fathers 4 Justice have
been involved in some pretty spectacular stunts."
Fathers 4 Justice has staged a number of high-profile stunts around
Britain in recent years to highlight what they deem to be unfair
child custody laws.
Their demonstrations -- in which protesters are often dressed as
superheroes -- usually involve breaching security and occupying
notable landmarks.
Activists have in the past egged Blair's car, scaled St Paul's
Cathedral and the London Eye ferris wheel. They once hit Blair with
purple powder during a speech in parliament.
Protesters even scaled onto a ledge at Buckingham Palace, the
official London residence of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
The rarely-seen Leo George Blair has always been a focus of media
attention, being the first baby born to a serving British prime
minister for more than 150 years.
The Blairs have sought to keep him, like his siblings Euan, 22 on
Thursday, Nicholas, 21, and 17-year-old Kathryn, out of the media
spotlight.
Just weeks after the birth, the Blairs issued the first of several
calls for privacy after pictures of a sleeping Leo taken by a group
of schoolchildren were printed.
The Sun said exact details of the plot were not revealed and no
arrests had been made.
But police believe the conspirators were from a breakaway element
of the group who believe the mainstream protesters are not radical
enough, it added. - AFP /dt