Early next morning their homes were raided, along with a local community centre where a controlled explosion was carried out. His brother, Imran, had been trying to call his mobile for ages and getting no response. A police family liaison officer visited the home in Colenso Mount to take details, as with so many of the victims. The Hussains gave the names of the "mates" their son had gone to visit London with. All this suggests that they were almost mourned as victims rather than the perpetrators, their guilt underplayed.Hussain was indeed recorded as a victim when his mother called the police casualty hotline just after 10pm on the day of the bombings. we will look to see how these people got through our net."Balthazar Garzon, a Spanish expert in the prosecution of terrorists, has described a "second generation" of extremists who have no history of affiliation to al-Qa'ida or any other organisation, but form loose, spontaneous groups based on personal relationships.
Al-Qa'ida is their inspiration, their "ideological reference point" rather than their boss, although they may seek out its help.The London bombers were born in the country they attacked, unlike any previous terror cell known to be active in Europe. Far from hiding their identities, they had documents on them that made it clear who they were. They did not, as far as anyone knows, finance their terrorism through crime. A large amount of explosive material was discovered in those raids. A security source reveals that MI5 was so overstretched at the time that it had to ask for agents from its sister force, MI6, to be recalled from abroad to help keep track of suspects. Although Khan's name came up during the course of inquiries, he was not questioned.
Now, a convicted member of al-Qa'ida held in American custody has said he recognises Khan."We are not above criticism," says a security source "When the dust settles ... There was just one caveat to those police statements that went almost unnoticed: one of the men had come to their attention during a previous, unspecified operation.This may have been what the French Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy, was talking about when he told journalists - in an off-guard moment - that "part of this team" had been subject to "partial arrest" in the spring of last year. But The Independent on Sunday can reveal that Khan did have links - including telephone contact - with an individual who came to the attention of police and security services last year during Operation Crevice, a major anti-terrorist operation in which properties across the Home Counties were raided. A Home Office statement added that none of the men had ever been arrested or detained as part of an anti-terrorist operation.That may well be true. Mr Sarkozy had only just been briefed by the British Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, who was livid at his comments They were "completely and utterly untrue", he said. The security services, stung by the idea they let someone come and go under their noses, stress that there is no evidence so far to link the four bombers with any other person.The police were adamant, in the aftermath of the bombings, that these had been "clean skins", people with no previous criminal records known to the security services.
