Bomb suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab on UK watch-list

A man charged with trying to blow up a plane had been on a UK watch-list, Home Secretary Alan Johnson has said.

He said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, was refused in May and was placed on a security list after he applied to study at a bogus college.

Meanwhile, UK passengers on US-bound flights face delays of up to three hours and extra security measures.

The Nigerian man targeted a Detroit-bound flight with explosives hidden in his clothes, it is claimed.

Police are searching several London properties linked to the Nigerian ex-University College London student.

Britons travelling to the US face long delays.


US FLIGHT ADVICE
Only one item of hand luggage, including items bought airside
BA and Virgin Atlantic not charging to check in extra hand luggage
Check in wrapped presents
Passengers subject to "pat-down" searches before boarding, on top of usual security checks
Customers to remain seated during final hour of flight
No access to hand luggage and a ban on leaving possessions or blankets on laps during this hour

Father warned about 'jet bomber'
'Attack' raises fresh security fears

UK airport operator BAA said airline staff were carrying out extensive checks and advised passengers to leave extra time to check in.

Meanwhile, the home secretary explained that people on a watch-list cannot come into the UK, although they can pass through the country in transit.

He said there was now a need to establish what communication had occurred between authorities in the UK and US, although he said the two countries routinely shared security information.

Mr Abdulmutallab was also on a US watch-list, although it allowed him to fly on planes flying into the country.

He was placed on the US' lowest risk watch-list by US authorities in November 2009, after his father expressed concerns to authorities about the behaviour of his son.

The home secretary told BBC Radio 4's Today US authorities should theoretically have been informed that the Nigerian man was on UK watch-list and he doubted there had been a "hiccup" in procedures.

Mr Johnson also said there was a need to establish the nature of Mr Abdulmutallab's activities while he studied in the UK and when he had become radicalised.

Mr Johnson said the UK's border security was extremely "robust".


The key question is what did authorities know about him before the attack?
Gordon Corera
BBC security correspondent

"We have a very, very strong border in this country, we have strong security measures. We've now monitored 135 million people trying to enter the country."

He said the visa system was now based on biometric fingerprints.

And, as concerns are raised about how a device could be taken on board a plane, the home secretary stressed that the UK intends to be "at the cutting edge" of full body scanning technology and will "put it in place as quickly as possible".

"There is an issue of cost and you always have to get this balance between ensuring that the security of our population, which is our primary concern, is balanced against people going about their normal daily business," the home secretary said.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Correra said the alleged attack prompted a number of questions about Mr Abdulmutallab, as well as many concerning the relationship between authorities in the UK and US.

"The key question is what did authorities know about him before the attack?

"In terms of the UK there has been the suggestion that he might have crossed the radar of the security service MI5 while he was in the UK, but without any indication that he was planning an attack. But was he in contact with any extremists here?"

Flight delays

Our correspondent also said Mr Abdulmutallab's most recent application for a UK visa led to the question of why he would want to enter the country.

And on the issue of UK-US relations, he added: "Was information being processed correctly and shared effectively - including between the US and the UK over the individual."

Air travellers are undergoing "pat-down" searches before boarding and being restricted to one item of hand luggage.

Several US-bound flights from London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports did not get airborne until between two and three hours after their scheduled departure times on Sunday.

US authorities introduced the measures, along with a ban on leaving seats in the hour before landing, after Mr Abdulmutallab was tackled on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam as it approached Detroit on Friday.

It is alleged that Mr Abdulmutallab spent about 20 minutes in the toilet before trying to set off a device moulded around his body, which had apparently passed undetected through airport checks.
BBC