An Al Qaeda leader had warned a British cleric of the impending doctors plot in UK, reports say.
While the Asian and Middle East doctor community is struggling to come to terms with the aftermath of the recent terror attempts in the country, even more grisly details are emerging.
An al-Qaeda leader in Iraq may have given a cryptic clue about the foiled UK bombing attacks when he reportedly told a British cleric in Baghdad that "those who cure you will kill you,” says the Times of London.The cleric passed on details of the warning, but not the specific wording, to a senior British Government official in mid-April, according to the report.
The Times is also reporting that several of the suspects have links to extremist Islamic groups.
To add to the unease among the doctors from Asia and the Middle East, Prime Minister Gordon Brown himself ordered a review of recruitment procedures by NHS.
Brushing aside a statement by NHS Employers, the new Prime Minister told the Commons that the national health service would be asked to “expand” background checks on highly-skilled migrants before considering them for jobs.
All the eight people arrested in the aftermath of two bungled car bombings, in London and Glasgow, are from the medical profession, it may be recalled here.
Advertisement
The 27-year-old Indian national was arrested at Brisbane airport on Monday night, attempting to leave Australia.
Advertisement
"It was a lightning-fast operation," a police source told the Sydney Morning Herald.
Gold Coast Hospital colleagues of Haneef said the junior doctor was anxious to fly home on Monday, claiming his wife had just given birth to his child in India.
Haneef reportedly told hospital staff he would be gone for seven to 10 days, but it has been revealed he did not have any scheduled holidays in the hospital roster and he only had a one-way ticket leaving Australia.
"He was in a hurry to get home," a doctor told the Courier Mail.
"He didn't mention anything to me about the leave, so maybe it was a quick decision to go to India."
The Indian national has been employed at the hospital as a junior doctor on a temporary visa since last September.
He had been hired by the Queensland government from Liverpool under a much-hyped overseas recruitment drive.
It is not clear whether authorities believe that Haneef is indeed involved in the daring crime. For the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Mick Keelty, said last night that Haneef "may have done nothing wrong and may at the end of the day be free to go."
Haneef was arrested after a tip-off from British authorities, he said and stressed the AFP was acting on their behalf.
A spokeswoman for North Cheshire Hospitals in the UK said that both Haneef and a doctor arrested in Liverpool, north-west England, had both worked at the same hospital near that city.
Haneef worked there until 2005, she said.
Source-Medindia
GPL/M
