When is a plot not a plot

I say alleged because just recently we had the Forest Gate debacle, a terrorist plot both dastardly and horrific, until the police had to eventually admit they had been mistaken and issued apologies to all the Muslims they’d terrorised during their investigation. Newspapers that had run the faces and addresses of the accused on the front pages buried the apology inside. That is, those that actually printed it.

People have called or written, asking me what the atmosphere in the country is like. I, just like everyone else back home and in other countries, have seen the images – the passports and medication carried in large plastic bags, mothers drinking their babies’ milk to prove the innocence of its formula, havoc in itself since this is a country, obsessed as it is with breasts, where no one breastfeeds. And outside of this, outside of the front page images and the occasional update on the radio, nothing.

On the morning the story broke people took their trains as normal, rode buses like normal. Coffees with strange names were bought for ludicrous amounts of money and drunk hastily and in copious amounts, sandwiches were eaten on the way to work. In other words, things were as they always are. The stiff upper lip that the English are famous for was on display. There was no anxiety, no collective sense of threat. In fact, had one not seen the front pages of the newspapers – Muslims Held In Terror Plot the headlines screamed – it would have been easy to not know there had been anything amiss.

If I had been travelling things would have been different. Many flights were cancelled and still are as the new safety procedures add hours to check-in times, even domestic flights or those with destinations outside of the US.

Lines extend outside the airports in 20 degree weather. Passengers have taken to sleeping overnight in cues. One co-worker who was due to travel to Ireland the next day tried calling the airline to find out if the flight was still on. But outside of the airports, nothing. Friday evening the workforce was down at the pub for the all important pint, more interested in the quality of the ale than potential risks to life and limb. The plot wasn’t even a hot topic of discussion.

The British media has already orgiastically printed the names of those held for questioning. They’ve printed the names, addresses and photos of these suspects, some, subsequently, have been released without being charged to face a society that now erroneously associates them with plans to kill thousands. One letter in the paper spoke about the indignity of having white women taste their babies’ milk when everyone knew that the terrorists came from one ethnic group. The writer of this letter called for the end of political correctness and for the authorities to terrorise these people the way, it is implied, they terrorise us. One popular radio personality has spoken against the media’s sensational and irresponsible reporting, fearing a backlash along racist lines that is being spurred on by the stereotyping that’s taking place.

Over the weekend though, a new mood has emerged over this supposed terrorist plot and this week, the bacchanal has taken on even more sinister implications. Among a growing sector of society, certain aspects of the stories released just don’t feel right – the mechanics of the so-called bombs that were involved; the fact that Prime Minister Blair was out of the country when it happened, on vacation, and continues to be absent from the country at a crucial time; plus the fact that no one is allowed to leave the country with hand luggage but passengers are allowed to bring it on incoming flights, even from the US.

There has begun a whisper that is quickly growing into a rumour that there was no plot, and that this is just a ruse to garner support for continued actions in the Middle East. Many Britons want Blair to withdraw from Afghanistan and are fed up of his yes man currying of Bush’s favour. But for many this suggestion is considered highly unpatriotic. But it’s a damning indication of the confidence people place in the authorities and the Government especially, that they question the motives and even the existence of this uncovered plot.

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