Hunt underway for bomb suspects

A hunt is underway for the people responsible for planning two car bomb attacks in London.

A second car bomb had been defused in central London almost 24 hours after an identical device was found by chance and made safe.

The first bomb, in a metallic light green Mercedes, was spotted around 1am by a vigilant ambulance crew who had been called to the Tiger Tiger nightclub in The Haymarket, near Piccadilly, to attend an injured man. They saw fumes and called police.

Detectives are scouring the two vehicles for forensic evidence and examining hundreds of hours of CCTV footage for hints about the bombers' identities.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Peter Clarke said: "There was a considerable amount of fuel and gas canisters, as in the first vehicle. There was also a substantial quantity of nails.

"This like the first device, was potentially viable and was made safe by explosives officers. The vehicles are clearly linked."

Mr Clarke asked members of the public who saw the blue Mercedes parked in Cockspur Street early on Friday morning, or who have any other information, to contact the Confidential Anti Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321.

The plot might have been inspired by terrorist mastermind Dhiren Barot, who was jailed for life last November. He conspired to park limousines packed with gas canisters underneath high-profile buildings before detonating them.

The gang behind the fertiliser bomb plot planned to target nightclubs such as the Ministry of Sound in London. The five members, jailed for life earlier this year, had close links with the July 7 London bombers.

The incident comes almost two years after four suicide bombers brought carnage to London's transport network, claiming the lives of 52 innocent people on July 7.

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