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Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/new...itain-by-infecting-country-with-bird-flu.html
Terrorists could strike Britain by infecting country with bird flu
Terrorists could strike Britain by infecting the country with bird flu or Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a leading group of security experts has warned.
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:15AM GMT 27 Nov 2008
A commission led by Lord Ashdown, the former Liberal Democrat leader, identified 27 countries where terror organisations could become a threat to the UK.
The report by the Institute of Public Policy Research warns that one of the biggest emerging threats comes from terrorists turning to biological warfare.
The assessment comes from the IPPR's Commission on National Security for the 21st century which is chaired by Lord Ashdown and Lord Robertson, the former Secretary General of NATO, and includes Lord Guthrie, the former Chief of the Defence Staff and Sir David Omand, the former security and intelligence coordinator in the Cabinet Office.
It says the danger from pandemic diseases such as SARS and Avian Flu is growing and that existing arrangements to respond to serious incidents are inadequate which means "a serious disease outbreak or bio-terrorism incident in the next 18 months could tip the global economy from serious recession into a global depression."
The commission warns that the ingredients for sarin gas and mustard gas are easily available, that radioactive materials are in wide use in hospitals and industry and that there are insufficient checks on who is buying biological agents.
"This in turn could allow a terrorist to buy genes for use in the engineering of an existing and dangerous pathogen into a new more virulent strain," the report says.
It says that al-Qaeda remains the "most significant terrorist group of the current era" but "lone individuals with relevant experience can now be more dangerous than before."
"The biggest danger," says the report, "may come from state weakness and the possibility that terrorists might gain access to state laboratories and facilities that are insufficiently secure."
It also warns that competition between the US and China over natural resources or in outer space could spark the next global conflict.
The commission says there are double the number of weak states compared to strong ones and all of the top 20 failed or failing states are currently experiencing violent conflict or political violence.
It has identified what it calls a group of critical 'swing states' and an "arc of instability" stretching from the coast of west Africa, right across to the east coast of the continent and up through the Persian Gulf region and into central Asia.
That includes Iraq and Afghanistan along with Pakistan, which is particularly dangerous because of its nuclear arsenal, and Nigeria and Sudan, which are particularly important because of their oil reserves.
Other "pressure points" include Haiti, Burma, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
The commission calls on NATO and the European Union to increase help for the African Union, the regional security body that is "likely to be tested the most in the next five to ten years."
But Lord Robertson and Lord Ashdown, said bio-security challenges should be treated "every bit as seriously as other, more traditional threats to security."
Lord Rees, President of the Royal Society and a member of the commission, added: 'Scientific advance has brought huge steps forward for humanity but knowledge can be used for bad purposes as well as good.
"Acts of bio-terrorism carried out not only by organised groups but by individuals with expertise and access to a laboratory, are a serious 21st century threat."
Terrorists could strike Britain by infecting country with bird flu
Terrorists could strike Britain by infecting the country with bird flu or Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a leading group of security experts has warned.
By Duncan Gardham, Security Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:15AM GMT 27 Nov 2008
A commission led by Lord Ashdown, the former Liberal Democrat leader, identified 27 countries where terror organisations could become a threat to the UK.
The report by the Institute of Public Policy Research warns that one of the biggest emerging threats comes from terrorists turning to biological warfare.
The assessment comes from the IPPR's Commission on National Security for the 21st century which is chaired by Lord Ashdown and Lord Robertson, the former Secretary General of NATO, and includes Lord Guthrie, the former Chief of the Defence Staff and Sir David Omand, the former security and intelligence coordinator in the Cabinet Office.
It says the danger from pandemic diseases such as SARS and Avian Flu is growing and that existing arrangements to respond to serious incidents are inadequate which means "a serious disease outbreak or bio-terrorism incident in the next 18 months could tip the global economy from serious recession into a global depression."
The commission warns that the ingredients for sarin gas and mustard gas are easily available, that radioactive materials are in wide use in hospitals and industry and that there are insufficient checks on who is buying biological agents.
"This in turn could allow a terrorist to buy genes for use in the engineering of an existing and dangerous pathogen into a new more virulent strain," the report says.
It says that al-Qaeda remains the "most significant terrorist group of the current era" but "lone individuals with relevant experience can now be more dangerous than before."
"The biggest danger," says the report, "may come from state weakness and the possibility that terrorists might gain access to state laboratories and facilities that are insufficiently secure."
It also warns that competition between the US and China over natural resources or in outer space could spark the next global conflict.
The commission says there are double the number of weak states compared to strong ones and all of the top 20 failed or failing states are currently experiencing violent conflict or political violence.
It has identified what it calls a group of critical 'swing states' and an "arc of instability" stretching from the coast of west Africa, right across to the east coast of the continent and up through the Persian Gulf region and into central Asia.
That includes Iraq and Afghanistan along with Pakistan, which is particularly dangerous because of its nuclear arsenal, and Nigeria and Sudan, which are particularly important because of their oil reserves.
Other "pressure points" include Haiti, Burma, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
The commission calls on NATO and the European Union to increase help for the African Union, the regional security body that is "likely to be tested the most in the next five to ten years."
But Lord Robertson and Lord Ashdown, said bio-security challenges should be treated "every bit as seriously as other, more traditional threats to security."
Lord Rees, President of the Royal Society and a member of the commission, added: 'Scientific advance has brought huge steps forward for humanity but knowledge can be used for bad purposes as well as good.
"Acts of bio-terrorism carried out not only by organised groups but by individuals with expertise and access to a laboratory, are a serious 21st century threat."
