Terror threat: The great deception

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Today, The Independent publishes detailed analysis of how Tony Blair manipulated the serious threat of terrorism facing Britain to suit the Government's political agenda. It argues the Prime Minister has repeatedly misrepresented security intelligence to the British people, pandered to the right-wing media, and scuppered a golden opportunity to achieve a cross-party consensus on terrorism in the wake of the London bombings of 7 July.

The revelations come in an extract from the Centre for Policy Studies pamphlet by the journalist Peter Oborne. The Use and Abuse of Terror is an examination of the actions of the Government, the police and security services in the heightened state of alert since 11 September 2001.

It investigates how the Government and security services have exploited the scare stories in recent years, including "ricin poison plot" arrests and a "plan to bomb Old Trafford". Mr Oborne analyses - with the help of first-hand testimony - the twists and turns of government policy and comes to his damning conclusion: "New Labour has set out to politicise terror, to use it for narrow party advantage. Few people now believe what the Prime Minister, the security services and police tell us about security matters."

THE RICIN PLOT How ministers used discovery of poison to justify Iraq war - but there was none

OLD TRAFFORD How plot to bomb Manchester United ground in 2004 was a total fabrication

BOMBING AFTERMATH How Blair destroyed a cross-party deal on anti-terror laws after London attacks