The majority of the British population is confident in British security forces’ ability to combat terrorist attacks in the UK, our survey shows. This comes as US-bound explosive devices sent from the Yemen were intercepted by security officials in the UK and Dubai last week.
The explosive devices intercepted both consisted of explosives packed into printer toner cartridges. Although addressed to synagogues in Chicago, UK Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed that the device seized in the UK could have been detonated onboard the aircraft.
According to reports, the packages were posted from the Yemeni capital Sana’a with freight firms UPS and FedEx. Screening of air cargo differs between countries. While the US began screening 100% of cargo loaded on passenger planes in August 2010, the UK uses a system of ‘no consignor’ which gives companies audited by the Department for Transport a trusted status and exempts their cargo from screening. It is unclear if any screening system exists in the Yemen.
