Are terrorist "sleeper cells" preparing to attack the London 2012 Olympics ?

In the wake of the latest terrorist scares last weekend and the government now reducing the threat level from its highest level, more and more people are starting to ask how the latest terror cell was organised and recruited and to what extent it is a forerunner of things to come.

In an excellent article in today's Telegraph by Crispin Black, the point is made that Al-Qa'eda has been looking for some time to recruit more Caucasian converts to Islam to become suicide bombers. Although this has not seen a mass wave of bomb attacks, there is evidence of some success in this area already. As Crispin Black comments

"The most famous case so far has been that of a 38-year-old white middle-class Belgian woman from Charleroi who, in December 2005, took part in a suicide attack on US forces in Iraq. (The Belgian authorities have never revealed her identity, to protect her relatives)."

But what of the threat from professionals, particularly those, like the NHS doctors already arrested, who this country is reliant upon. Already Gordon Brown is calling for more stringent tests and checks on these people, but it is very difficult to assess people who come over to the UK or to watch UK citizens who want to sit tight and wait for the right moment. Clearly any prospective terrorist with any wish to sit and wait for the rigth moment must already be looking to the London 2012 Olympics as the key moment to strike.

So rather than attempting to close the stable door long after the horse has bolted over doctors coming to this country, the government must be redoubling its efforts to screen, vet and constantly re-screen those people who want to be employed by the London 2012 Olympic organisers. And once people have been screened, they must remain under observation in order to check them again.

Whilst sleeper cells can sit deep and "sleep", they become very obvious once they have woken and immediately before they launch an attack. London 2012 is going to be a defining moment in this country's ability to show it can prevent terrorism and British citizens may all need to give up some freedoms if they choose to be a part of it, both as spectators, competitors and volunteers.