Just A Regular Friday Night

Last night whilst sipping a well earned alcoholic beverage with friends close to the Charing Cross Road, we witnessed a slew of police vans headed south at break kneck speed. It would have been a regular sight for a Friday night except van after van after van hurtled in the same direction accompanied by other officers on bikes, in cars etc, suggesting something big was occuring somewhere. About 8 or 9 vans and associated entourage i guess. That sinking feeling ensued. All occured mid evening. It now seems highly likely that it was officers headed for London Bridge/Borough.

BBC News:14 held in terror police swoop

Armed police have arrested 14 men overnight following anti-terror raids in London, which included 12 arrests at a restaurant in the Borough area.

Sky News: A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "The arrests in south and east London follow many months of surveillance and investigation in a joint operation involving the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Special Branch and the Security Service."

AFP: British anti-terror police probing 'thousands' of suspects

LONDON (AFP) - British police are currently trying to monitor "thousands" of potential security suspects, the head of the anti-terrorism unit at London's Metropolitan Police said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.

Reuters: UK police arrest 16 in anti-terrorism raids

LONDON (Reuters) - British police said on Saturday they had arrested 16 men in two separate anti-terrorism operations just three weeks after uncovering a suspected plot to bring down U.S.-bound airliners over the Atlantic. Fourteen of the men were held in London in an operation that a police source said focused on suspected "training, recruitment and encouraging others to take part in terrorist activity".

"A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Anti-Terrorist Branch have arrested 14 men under the Terrorism Act 2000 in a pre-planned, intelligence-led operation. The arrests in south and east London follow many months of surveillance and investigation in a joint operation involving the Anti-Terrorist Branch, Special Branch and the Security Service."

Sorry not good enough! Here we go.

"An 18-year-old witness said: "There were about eight police vans and a large number of police in riot gear. There were police cars lined up on the street - I think it was over the top for the number of people I saw being taken away."

And Ive already heard a journo suggesting that busting into a restaurant was a little 'melodramatic'.

Good grief. So is blowing yourself up in the strange belief you will influence foreign policy. But i never heard anyone in the media comment in that fashion last July. Isnt it amazing how local dimwit 'witnesses', 'observers' and 'commentators' are able to determine what level of force and backup the police should use - presumably they are privvy to the information that led the police to their target in the first place, since the police have adopted this new strategy of sharing in advance.

Prepare for another round of whinging muslims playing up to a collective sense of liberal guilt, milking their 'victimhood' with cries of discrimination and harrassment whilst the rest of us are expected to forget all about it.

Oh and expect people dining out in Chinese restaurants to become suspicious of fellow diners and start running screaming from said restaurants any day now. Bigots.