Intelligence and Security Committee Report - May 2009 - Proposed MI5, Police Contact - Verbatim - no Comments

Detailed timeline of MI5 and police contact with Mohammed Siddique KHAN and Shazad TANWEER - Pages 57 - 66

3 February 1993

A man named “Sidique KHAN” (gives his date of birth as 20/10/1974 and place of birth as Leeds) is arrested and cautioned for a Section 47 assault (medium level) committed on 26 December 1992. As is normal procedure, a police record is created and his photograph is taken. Previous addresses shown on West Yorkshire Police records are given as 30 Runswick Place, Holbeck, Leeds (as at 2001) and 99 Stratford Street, Leeds (as at 1993). This incident is not related to national security and so the information is not passed by West Yorkshire Police to MI5.

1995
Shazad TANWEER is arrested by West Yorkshire Police for an alleged burglary. His personal details are recorded, but are not added to the Police National Computer (PNC) as the charges are dropped.

January 2001
As part of West Yorkshire Police’s Operation WARLOCK, a number of unidentified men are photographed taking part in an “outward bound” expedition organised by two known Islamist sympathisers and attended by approximately 40 men. Efforts are made by MI5 and police to identify them, and 9 of the 40 individuals are identified.

Late March 2003
MI5 initiate Operation CREVICE to investigate a network providing support to overseas jihadi activity.

14 April 2003
West Yorkshire Police “pattern of life” surveillance (unconnected to CREVICE) of a known extremist, as part of an investigation with MI5, sees the extremist leaving a mosque in Beeston, Leeds, with four or five others, getting into a BMW and being given a lift for three minutes towards the city centre before being dropped off. On 16 April 2003, West Yorkshire Police checks on the PNC reveal that the keeper of the BMW is “Sidique KHAN” of 11 Gregory Street, Batley (near Leeds). The contact lasted only three minutes, and it was assessed not to have any national security significance or be relevant to the subject of the investigation.

Detailed timeline (continued)
13 July 2003

Data from a mobile phone associated with Mohammed Qayum KHAN (see paragraph 18) shows a number of calls with a telephone number MI5 had not seen before. Checks reveal that the telephone number in question is registered to “Siddique KHAN” of 49a Bude Road, Leeds (the address of a bookshop selling extremist literature).72 MI5 cannot match the name “Siddique KHAN” with any in their databases, and the contact is not investigated further since there is nothing to suggest involvement in any terrorist-related activity. ***. Information on this call is recorded, as a matter of routine, on Mohammed Qayum KHAN’s file as follows:
“INFO: Several calls to and from an [untraced individual] on [telephone number] *** ***. Calls are made *** and ***.”

19 July 2003
The mobile phone associated with Mohammed Qayum KHAN is used to call an untraced phone number ***. Checks on this pre-pay mobile phone do not reveal a registered keeper. There is no intelligence to suggest that this telephone contact is linked to the facilitation network and so no further action is taken.

24 July 2003
The same pre-pay mobile phone number as that used on 19 July 2003 is used again to call the mobile phone associated with Mohammed Qayum KHAN and ***. There is still nothing to suggest that this telephone contact is linked to Al-Qaida or extremism. No further action is taken.

17 August 2003
The mobile phone associated with Mohammed Qayum KHAN is used to call another untraced telephone number ***. There is no further intelligence regarding *** and no action is taken to investigate it.

Late January 2004

Omar KHYAM is formally identified (in MI5’s terms) as a member of the CREVICE facilitation network and is placed under limited surveillance as part of MI5’s attempts to learn more about the network. 72 A member of the public, Martin GILBERTSON, has alleged that he sent a pack of material to West Yorkshire Police that provided details on the IQRA bookshop, extremism, Mohammed Siddique KHAN, Shazad TANWEER and others. West Yorkshire Police have told the Committee that these allegations were investigated by their Homicide and Major Investigations Review Team, which found that they were without substance.

Detailed timeline (continued)
2 February 2004

Surveillance of Omar KHYAM sees him parking his car in Crawley (with another occupant) and then sees a green Honda Civic (registration R480 CCA) with three occupants parking alongside. After two minutes the Honda (with two occupants later described by surveillance as KHYAM and an unidentified man) drives up and down the A23 while the other three individuals remain in KHYAM’s parked car. ***, but surveillance believes that KHYAM and the UDM are driving around for the purpose of a meeting (although it is not known what is discussed). The men return to their original cars and both cars drive off. The Honda is followed to try and obtain some further information on the UDMs in case, at a later date, they are thought to be of interest and followed up on. At Toddington Service Station on the M1, the MI5 surveillance team secretly photograph the three unidentified males in the Honda car and classify them as UDMs C, D and E. The Honda continues its journey and two men alight at Lodge Lane and Tempest Road, Leeds. The car then drives towards Dewsbury and is seen to park outside 10 Thornhill Park Avenue.

Early February 2004
MI5 receive intelligence to suggest that there was a bomb plot probably aimed at the UK (***). Surveillance on KHYAM is increased.

11 February 2004
The CREVICE Executive Liaison Group is formed to manage the operation. They set out their aims to ensure public safety and to investigate the bomb plot (with a view to arresting and prosecuting those involved).

16 February 2004
MI5 runs checks on the green Honda Civic (seen on 2 February), which is shown to be registered to a “Hasina PATEL” at 10 Thornhill Park Avenue, Dewsbury. MI5 ask West Yorkshire Police for any details they have on “Hasina PATEL” in order “to enable us to fully identify any potential associates of KHYAM”. There is no record of a written response to this request.

20 February 2004
A call to the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Special Branch anti-terrorist hotline reveals that KHYAM is connected to a storage facility where a suspicious quantity of fertiliser is being held. MI5 realise that the CREVICE group now have both the intention and capability to mount an attack in the UK – this triggers consistent intensive surveillance coverage on KHYAM. The core CREVICE group are monitored discussing bomb making.

Detailed timeline (continued)
20–22 February 2004
An electronics expert arrives from Canada to advise KHYAM and some of the other bomb plotters on the construction and operation of remote-controlled detonation devices.

21 February 2004
Surveillance shows KHYAM and Shujah MAHMOOD (a man assessed at the time to be part of the CREVICE group but later acquitted of CREVICE-related charges) driving to pick up food in KHYAM’s car.73 Surveillance reports that “At 21:05 the Silver Suzuki arrived back in the area [and] (KHYAM) and (MAHMOOD) remained in the vehicle chatting until approximately 21:34”. The note made during the live monitoring of eavesdropping devices says “operation, indistinct speech/do something”. The MI5 surveillance team report that they saw two people in the car. Taking this information together, the assessment was that the meeting was between KHYAM and Shujah MAHMOOD.

28 February 2004
Intelligence coverage of KHYAM *** an unidentified individual. MI5 surveillance then observe the Honda Civic seen on 2 February (R480 CCA) with UDMs C, D and E meeting KHYAM and MAHMOOD in a car park in Crawley at 08:56. They make a series of visits to builders’ merchants, travel to a mosque in Slough, and then stop at KHYAM’s address in Hencroft Street (***). They then travel to Wellingborough (near Northampton), via Toddington Service Station near Luton (where they meet Mohammed Qayum KHAN at 17:30 hours), before returning to Slough to drop off KHYAM and MAHMOOD at 23:35 (nothing of significance was heard discussed in KHYAM’s car during the day). The MI5 surveillance team stay with KHYAM, but the MPS surveillance team follow the remaining unidentified men back to West Yorkshire
– again with the aim of finding something as a reference point should it be assessed that these men were suspicious and needed following up later. They stop again at Toddington Service Station, and at Castle Donington Service Station (near Derby), Tempest Road (Leeds), outside a church in Lodge Lane (Leeds), and finally park in Pickles Field, Batley (near Leeds). CCTV stills from Toddington Service Station are initially requested by the police (but later cancelled).

29 February 2004
The MPS check on the Honda Civic and find it is registered to “Sidique KHAN”, who lives at 11 Gregory Street, Batley, West Yorkshire. (The vehicle registration document for the Honda Civic shows ownership was transferred to “Sidique KHAN” on 1 February 2004.) His date of birth (obtained from his insurance policy, the details of which are supplied by the customer and not verified) is given as 20 October 1974. The car is linked to two previous addresses: 10 Thornhill Park Avenue, Dewsbury, and 99 Stratford Street, Leeds. 73 It is now thought that there were at least four people in KHYAM’s car at around 21:00 on the evening of 21 February, including Mohammed Siddique KHAN. Further information on the events of this evening can be found on pages 31 to 36.

Detailed timeline (continued)
2 March 2004
MI5 ask West Yorkshire Police about a storage facility at 99 Stratford Street that may be linked to KHYAM. The MPS’s investigation of the address names three individuals, including a “Mohammed Sadique KHAN” with a date of birth of 20 October 1974. The name on his driving licence is spelt “Sidique”. The MPS note in their records (CREVICE Action 990) that “due to a lack of significant traces of Sidique KHAN, consideration might be given to the [possibility] that this name is an alias”.

21 March 2004
A green Vauxhall Corsa (registration YB52 LUF), driven by a then unidentified person, arrives at an address in Crawley and picks up KHYAM and MAHMOOD, and they drive around for 40 minutes before returning to the same address.

22 March 2004
Intelligence coverage of KHYAM *** a man called “Millie” (the assessment now is that this refers to the meeting with Siddique KHAN on 23 March).

23 March 2004
Further surveillance on KHYAM observes him and four UDMs travelling from Crawley to Slough. The individuals travel in KHYAM’s car and a green Vauxhall Corsa (YB52 LUF) with the words “Car Clinic” and a telephone number on the side. The surveillance team believe that the driver of the Corsa is identical to the driver of the Honda Civic on 28 February (UDM E). Another of the individuals is described as being identical to one of the passengers in the Honda Civic on 28 February (UDM D). During the afternoon, in KHYAM’s car, KHYAM and a UDM speak briefly about the “success of the Madrid bombings”. KHYAM and UDM E visit an internet café before returning to KHYAM’s flat (***). Eavesdropping at KHYAM’s flat hears that the men are from Leeds and the conversation is largely related to financial fraud. Video stills are produced from surveillance. The police later find that the Vauxhall Corsa is registered to Lombard Vehicle Management Ltd.

30 March 2004
The men alleged to be involved with the fertiliser bomb plot are arrested.

March 2004 onwards
Out of the several thousand contacts monitored during Operation CREVICE, MI5 are unable to identify 150. Of these unidentified individuals, based on the threat that they are thought to pose to national security, 15 are categorised as “essential” targets and 9 new MI5 operations are launched. UDMs D and E are among a group of 40 of the 150 unidentified contacts categorised as “desirable” targets.
MI5 are then diverted from the follow-up work by an even bigger and more sophisticated operation – Operation RHYME – which absorbs their resources.

Detailed timeline (continued)
4 April 2004
Shazad TANWEER is given a criminal caution by West Yorkshire Police for a public disorder/verbal harassment offence. His personal details are taken, together with a photograph, fingerprints and a DNA sample. These details are added to the West Yorkshire Crime Information System, and to the Viewdata system, and a Police National Computer (PNC) entry is created.

April–May 2004
A detainee says that two men from the UK, known as “IBRAHIM” and “zUBAIR”, had travelled to Pakistan in 2003 and that they had met those who were to become the CREVICE plotters whilst there.

*** May 2004
Another intelligence source reports that two men known as “IBRAHIM” and “zUBAIR”, from Leeds, had travelled to Pakistan in 2003. ***. ***. ***.
In connection with CREVICE more generally, ***.

25 May 2004
The MPS provide MI5 with a summary “cluster” of intelligence found on the Honda Civic (R480 CCA), which confirms “Hasina PATEL” as the registered owner in 2003.74 Her address is given as 10 Thornhill Park Avenue, and the cluster also confirms her date of birth as 23 November 1977. It also shows that the new keeper of the car is “Sidique KHAN” of 11 Gregory Street, Batley, and provides his date of birth (20 October 1974) and previous addresses as 10 Thornhill Park Avenue and 99 Stratford Street. This cluster also shows that there was no Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) trace for the Honda Civic on 3 March 2004, but that “the details have since been entered on Operation WEDGE”. (The ANPR system enables police units to identify vehicles from registration plates, and is used when the vehicle is suspected of involvement in crime or where intelligence is needed on the vehicle. The details of the Honda Civic are not added to the WEDGE counter-terrorism database, contrary to the cluster message.) 74 A “cluster” is a secure form of communication/messaging system used by MI5 and the police that contains operational intelligence and requests for information/checks to be carried out.

Detailed timeline (continued)
8 June 2004
MI5 provide West Yorkshire Police with details summarising CREVICE connections to the Leeds area – this includes information on 12 individuals, 13 addresses and related data. Amongst these details is the green Honda Civic registered to “Sidique KHAN” of 11 Gregory Street, Batley (near Leeds), and previously registered to “Hasina PATEL” of 10 Thornhill Avenue, Dewsbury. Checks of publicly available records reveal that “Sidique KHAN” has links to 10 Thornhill Park Avenue, Dewsbury, and 99 Stratford Street, Leeds. The communication also notes the addresses in Tempest Road, Lodge Lane and Pickles Street where the Honda Civic was observed to be picking up and dropping off individuals during the CREVICE investigation. MI5 state that they believe the driver of the Honda Civic on 28 February was the same person as the driver of the green Vauxhall Corsa on 23 March. Separately, MI5 also ask West Yorkshire Police for any information they might have that could enable “IBRAHIM” and “zUBAIR” (the men that the detainee and other source of information had said had trained in Pakistan) to be identified.

14 July 2004
The North East Regional Intelligence Cell (NERIC) respond to the details provided by MI5 on 8 June 2004 (this response was dated 14 July, but sent on 17 July). They find no positive results for the Honda Civic against the databases of the NERIC, West Yorkshire Special Branch, or local police systems. A check against the PNC shows 22 inquiries have been made on the car between August 2003 and July 2004, 21 of which are related to Operation CREVICE. (The 22nd was a routine check made on 20 August 2003, which did not warrant any further action.)
In the same response NERIC provide MI5 with details of “Sidique KHAN” and his various addresses and date of birth, together with the photograph from his caution in 1993. Information that the police hold on “Hasina PATEL”, as well as a number of other individuals, is given. West Yorkshire Police are unable to provide any insight as to the identities of “IBRAHIM” or “zUBAIR”. No further action is taken independently and West Yorkshire Police await any further tasking.

12 August 2004
The detainee is shown black and white photocopies of fairly good quality, medium-distance group photographs and CCTV stills of unknown males (including UDMs D and E) which were provided by the MPS. The detainee says that they cannot tell who UDMs D and E are from the photographs provided.

17 January 2005
West Yorkshire Police Special Branch receive information indicating that a man named “Saddique ***” and a man named “IMRAN” had undergone training in Afghanistan in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Both men are reported to live in Batley (“Saddique ***” in the Soothill area) and are committed to the extremist cause. West Yorkshire Police cross-check this information against their records with no results. This report is shared with MI5 a few weeks later and they too check their records with no result.

Detailed timeline (continued)
27 January 2005
In the process of gathering evidence for the CREVICE trial and completing actions relating to the operation, the MPS take a statement from the “Just Car Clinic”, a collision repair company that leased the Vauxhall Corsa to an individual at the time of Operation CREVICE (see entry on 23 March 2004). From this statement the police are able to “nominally identify the driver” as “Mr S. KHAN”.

9 February 2005
MPS Action A4076 (one of the records of actions undertaken during a police investigation) reveals one result on “Sidique KHAN” that relates to his Honda Civic (R480 CCA) being placed on the ANPR “should the vehicle enter the confines of Heathrow Airport (re Op Crevice)”. This is standard operating procedure for vehicles that feature in surveillance during a counter-terrorism operation. This was instigated by the Counter-Terrorism Command National Joint Unit (NJU) on 17 February 2004, and was one of 72 vehicle registrations of interest (including 39 others from CREVICE). Instructions were that “[should] activations occur the vehicles are not to be stopped but NJU are to be notified immediately…” The MPS Action also confirms that the Vauxhall Corsa was leased by “Just Car Clinic” to a “Mr S. KHAN” whilst his Honda Civic (R480 CCA) was being repaired. The individual had given his mobile telephone number and his address (11 Gregory Street, Batley), and asked for his car to be picked up from 10 Thornhill Park Avenue, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire. A driving licence check reveals a last known address of 99 Stratford Street, Leeds.

1 March 2005
West Yorkshire Police and MI5 receive further information about “Saddique ***” indicating that he is in his early 30s and has reportedly received some military training in a mujahaddin camp in Pakistan in early 2001. This was the total of the relevant information received and it was not possible to corroborate it or investigate to find out more.

March 2005
A detainee confirms that “IBRAHIM” and “zUBAIR” (who he describes as coming from Bradford, West Yorkshire) had been, in 2003, at the same training camp in Pakistan as individuals who later became the CREVICE plotters, ***. ***. ***.

12 April 2005
Operation DO*** begins. The purpose of the operation is to identify “IBRAHIM” and “zUBAIR” and to establish whether they pose a terrorist threat.

Detailed timeline (continued)
4 May 2005
MI5 provide a summary of the intelligence they have on Operation DO*** to West Yorkshire Police. They provide West Yorkshire Police Special Branch with details of two possible “zUBAIRs” from West Yorkshire and ask if they can provide “any trace on your records for both of these individuals” (neither of these was Mohammed Siddique KHAN). MI5 also say that, in “the near future”, they hope to provide *** with photographs of the two individuals “in the hope of positively identifying ‘ZUBAIR’”.

21 June 2005
West Yorkshire Police Special Branch telephone MI5 to state that they can find no information on “IBRAHIM” or “zUBAIR”.

21 June 2005
MI5 send a “cluster” message to West Yorkshire Police Special Branch stating that they have provided the photographs of the two potential “zUBAIRs” to *** but have not yet heard ***. MI5 also say “we can’t move forward and deploy more intrusive investigative resources until we can be more certain we have the correct ‘ZUBEIR’ [sic] in our sights”. MI5 also inform West Yorkshire Police Special Branch that, as part of Operation FL*** (created to follow up on other leads from CREVICE), they have identified “IMRAN” as zeeshan Anis SIDDIQUI and that they “are optimistic that continued coverage will shed light on other leads from CREVICE, including [identifying ‘IBRAHIM’ and ‘ZUBAIR’ from] DO***”.

7 July 2005
Terrorist attacks on the London transport network kill 52 people and injure more than 700.

7–13 July 2005
The MPS begin to piece together the identities of the bombers. A detailed account of these events is included on pages 15 and 16.

9 July 2005
Following the discovery of credit cards at two of the bomb sites that are in the name “Mohammed Sidique KHAN”, the police check this name against their records. They discover that the name features on intelligence records relating to Operation CREVICE. (This link was documented in Message M173 of Operation THESEUS – the 7/7 investigation – at 09:10 on 10 July 2005.)

11 July 2005
Before it became clear that Mohammed Siddique KHAN had died in the attacks, but when he was the prime suspect for the bombings, new intelligence indicated that “Saddique ***” (see 17 January and 1 March 2005) was Mohammed Siddique KHAN.

Detailed timeline (continued)
11 July 2005
The MPS ask West Yorkshire Police to investigate their primary suspect, and as a result West Yorkshire Police obtain authorisation to place tracking devices on four cars parked outside Mohammed Siddique KHAN’s address in Leeds.

11 July 2005
Mohammed Siddique KHAN, Shazad TANWEER, Hasib HUSSAIN and (on 13 July) Jermaine LINDSAY become the police’s primary suspects, and search warrants are executed on related addresses and vehicles.

13–16 July 2005
DNA checks confirm that KHAN, TANWEER, HUSSAIN and LINDSAY had died carrying out the attacks.

Mid-July 2005
A detainee identifies “IBRAHIM” from unmarked press photographs of Mohammed Siddique KHAN. MI5 investigate further and are able to ascertain *** that “ZUBAIR” is a man called Mohammed SHAKIL. ***.

Late July 2005
The assessment that “ZUBAIR” and SHAKIL are the same person is confirmed when a detainee identifies a photograph of SHAKIL as being the man he knew as “zUBAIR”.

Late July/August 2005
An intelligence officer working in West Yorkshire Special Branch reviews photographs of unidentified individuals who had attended training camps, and recognises one of the photographs taken during Operation WARLOCK in 2001 as being Mohammed Siddique KHAN. This information comes to the attention of MI5 in May 2007 in the course of this Review.

Autumn 2005
*** ***. This indicates that Mohammed Siddique KHAN was also in the car, with KHYAM and Shujah MAHMOOD, on 21 February 2004.

December 2005
Two MI5 sources are shown photographs from Operation WARLOCK (the 2001 extremist training camp) and identify Mohammed Siddique KHAN as one of the attendees.

February 2008
In preparation for a terrorism-related trial, a Detective Constable from West Yorkshire Police further analyses the recording of the conversation in KHYAM’s car on 21 February 2004. This new analysis confirms that Mohammed Siddique KHAN was in the car, and suggests that Shazad TANWEER may also have been present.