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BTP and Weapons of Mass Destruction

 




A friend and ex colleague sent me this picture today after seeing it on display whilst on holiday.  It shows BTP’s Specialist Response Unit (then part of the Counter Terrorism Support Unit - CTSU) during training, using advanced chemical detection equipment and wearing Gas Tight Suits (GTS).  The picture was taken in 2006 in the yard at BTP FHQ at Tavistock Place (1).

In the period following the 9/11 attacks in the US, BTP rapidly enhanced its Counter Terrorism capability.  Work on confronting the Chemical, Biological and Nuclear (CBRN) threat had begun in earnest in 1995 in the aftermath of the nerve agent attack on the Tokyo Metro by the Aum Shinrikyo cult (2).    

The railways policed by BTP and its predecessors have been targeted since the 1880s by terrorists, so the development of officers trained to handle terrorist incidents and threats is no surprise.  Experience of wartime operations also featured in BTP’s corporate memory.  The force was lucky in the 1990s and 2000s to have an in-house expert in the form of Adrian Dwyer.  With his guidance BTP had the best equipment and the best training of any force in the UK.

Under the leadership of senior officers such as Paul Nicholas and Alan Pacey the force was able to face the changing CT challenges of the period, building on the work of Ian McGregor and his predecessors going back to the Fenian outrages of the nineteenth century.

BTP engaged with police forces throughout the world to keep on top of the best techniques, policies and intelligence to safeguard public transport (including the London Underground).  It worked closely with the rail industry and government.  In doing so it created a model of ‘stakeholder engagement’ that was second to none.

Without doubt this work continues.  The threat changes and the vectors of potential attack mutate.  The safety of the travelling public remains paramount.

This particular picture is on display in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum in Japan.  It is a sobering thought that an image from BTP’s history is relevant to the illustration of the continuing threat to humankind from extreme weapons.  A reminder that those that work for peace and those people (including domestic emergency services) who protect ordinary people are deserving of our gratitude and support.

 

Philip Trendall

September 2025

 

With grateful acknowledgement to my friend and colleague who himself played a major role in BTP’s CT efforts in various roles over many years.

(1)    FHQ Tavistock place was the second HQ for BTP.  Formerly occupied by Express Dairies it was affectionately (?) known as’ the dairy’ which provided an apposite counterpoint to the Met’s habit of referring to their police stations as the ‘factory’.     After BTP moved to Camden the building was occupied by The School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, part of the University of London.  At the time of writing the building is currently being refurbished although the former entrance/reception is still open as a café/coffee house for the general public.

(2)    The attack took place on the Toyoko Metro on 20 March 1995, using the nerve agent Sarin.  13 people were killed and 50 injured.  Over 1000 commuters presented with symptoms of various sorts.  Many others were concerned for their long term health.  The use of a chemical weapon in these circumstances demonstrated the difficulties of handling a CBR attack.  CBR agents remain true weapons of terror.

 


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