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Soon, probably by the middle of March, the full details of how much the authorities knew about the July 7 bombers are likely to become public knowledge. It will be very embarrassing for the intelligence services - particularly MI5, which appears to have let the bombers slip through their fingers on at least four separate occasions.
It is almost certainly why Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, MI5's director, has decided to leave earlier than expected.
MI5 has been considering various legal mechanisms to keep the information under wraps, but now seems reconciled to the story emerging. Journalists not usually given the time of day have been invited into the service's Albert Embankment HQ to hear their side of the story.
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Few believe that Dame Eliza Manningham-
Buller planned her resignation before the 7/7 bombings |
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Apparently it is all down to 'lack of resources'. Dame Eliza has stuck to this line with such tenacity and robustness that it may come as a surprise to her detractors that the lady has a softer side. She enjoys being surrounded by fluffy animals, particularly alpacas - a kind of miniature llama - which she breeds on her farm for their wool.
There are no plans for Dame Eliza to appear in public and so Home Secretary John Reid will take to the screens with the 'lack of resources' line - at the same time aggressively attacking critics for using hindsight unfairly. It is not clear whether Dr Reid will repeat in public what Dame Eliza insists in private: that given what they knew at the time, MI5 would take the same decision again: not to follow the 7/7 plotters.
Few believe the official version that Dame Eliza planned her resignation before the bombings. It is no secret that the government was disappointed by her judgment in the summer of 2005. But she has not been 'sacked'. Rather, 'she has resigned to spend more time with her alpacas'.
- THE SPOOK
FIRST POSTED FEBRUARY 15, 2007
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