Security scramble after Blair hit

LONDON – Britain scrambled to tighten security yesterday after protesters hurled a condom filled with purple powder at Prime Minister Tony Blair in parliament.

Activists from a fathers’ rights group threw what turned out to be harmless dyed flour at Blair during his weekly House of Commons question time on Wednesday, when most of the cabinet and legislature were packed into the chamber. But the incident raised concern about how easily terrorists could hit at the heart of Britain.Britain’s MI5 domestic security agency was already looking into measures to improve safeguards in the riverside building, which is partly surrounded by concrete blocks to prevent car bomb attacks from the crowded central London roads.That inquiry was immediately shifted into higher gear.Leader of the House of Commons Peter Hain, who described Wednesday’s incident as a “very dramatic wake up call”, was due to meet MI5 chiefs on yesterday morning.”It was a very embarrassing lapse.The security review… put in train a few months ago is going to look at this very carefully,” Hain told BBC radio.”Surely it would have been a victory for terrorism if that attack yesterday had been ricin or anthrax and had killed both front benches and large numbers of members of parliament.”The security probe is likely to focus on restricting access to certain areas of parliament, while balancing openness in the centre of British democracy.- Nampa-ReutersBut the incident raised concern about how easily terrorists could hit at the heart of Britain.Britain’s MI5 domestic security agency was already looking into measures to improve safeguards in the riverside building, which is partly surrounded by concrete blocks to prevent car bomb attacks from the crowded central London roads.That inquiry was immediately shifted into higher gear.Leader of the House of Commons Peter Hain, who described Wednesday’s incident as a “very dramatic wake up call”, was due to meet MI5 chiefs on yesterday morning.”It was a very embarrassing lapse.The security review… put in train a few months ago is going to look at this very carefully,” Hain told BBC radio.”Surely it would have been a victory for terrorism if that attack yesterday had been ricin or anthrax and had killed both front benches and large numbers of members of parliament.”The security probe is likely to focus on restricting access to certain areas of parliament, while balancing openness in the centre of British democracy.- Nampa-Reuters