| Saudi king warned of london bombing { October 30 2007 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://www.theage.com.au/news/world/we-warned-britain-of-july-2005-attacks-says-saudi-king/2007/10/29/1193618803010.htmlhttp://www.theage.com.au/news/world/we-warned-britain-of-july-2005-attacks-says-saudi-king/2007/10/29/1193618803010.html
We warned Britain of July 2005 attacks, says Saudi king
London October 30, 2007
KING Abdullah of Saudi Arabia has accused Britain of failing to act on information the Saudis provided that might have averted the July 7, 2005, suicide bombings in London.
Hours before arriving for a state visit, the 83-year-old Saudi monarch told the BBC that Britain was not doing enough in the war on terror. "I believe that most countries are not taking this issue too seriously, including, unfortunately, Great Britain," he said. "We have sent information to Great Britain before the terrorist attacks … but unfortunately no action was taken and it may have been able to avert the tragedy."
A spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said no warnings were received before the attacks. "We do have a very close intelligence relationship with the Saudis and co-operation on counter-terrorism is generally very good. We just happen to disagree on this point," the spokesman said.
Months before the July 7 attack, in which four suicide bombers killed 52 people and wounded hundreds on London's bus and underground network, Saudi Arabia told the British and US governments that it had arrested a young Saudi man who confessed to raising money for an attack in the British capital. According to officials in several countries, the Saudis obtained information that the attack would involve a Syrian contact for financing, and that at least some of the four attackers would be British citizens.
The officials said that the information, provided in December 2004, did not give names, a date or specific location, but was detailed enough to heighten British concerns about an attack around July 2005.
King Abdullah also said he believed that a forthcoming Middle East peace conference would fail unless the Palestinians' needs were taken more seriously.
International pressure is growing on Israel and the Palestinians to agree the outlines of a final peace deal before the conference, expected to take place in Maryland in November or December.
Vince Cable, acting leader of Britain's Liberal Democrats, said he would boycott a banquet for the king to be held at Buckingham Palace. "By any standards, and in the assessment of our own Foreign Office, the human rights record of this government is absolutely appalling," he said.
Last December, then prime minister Tony Blair stepped in to halt a Serious Fraud Office investigation of a deal between defence contractor BAE Systems and Saudi Arabia, citing risks to British-Saudi relations.
AP, REUTERS
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