Al-Qaida targets British House of Commons

The Commons leader, Peter Hain, today admitted for the first time that al-Qaida had been "focusing" on parliament and reiterated his call for an urgent &to=http://english.pravda.ru/world/2000/12/21/1589.html' target=_blank>security review after two embarrassing security breaches in 24 hours.

Today's Sun revealed how one of the paper's reporters, working as a waiter at Westminster, smuggled in a fake bomb just 24 hours after the storming of the chamber by five hunting campaigners.

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme this morning, Mr Hain reiterated his call for an overarching security director to protect MPs and peers, and revealed details of briefings he had received from MI5 about "extremely disturbing" intelligence. He accused parliamentary authorities of failing to improve security despite this intelligence, reports the Guardian.

An undercover reporter smuggled fake bomb-making equipment into the British Parliament yesterday, a day after fox-hunting protesters made a mockery of security by bursting into the debating chamber. The tabloid's exposй prompted &to=http://english.pravda.ru/diplomatic/2001/10/30/19536.html' target=_blank>Peter Hain, the government leader in the chamber, to say: "This confirms all my worst fears and is why I have so determinedly pushed for much tighter security in the Commons," informs the Globe and Mail.