Britain OKs use of armed air marshals The Associated Press Friday, December 20, 2002 LONDON -- Undercover armed police officers will fly on British airlines to prevent hijackings, the British government said yesterday. Transport Secretary Alistair Darling said the capability "to place covert, specially trained armed police officers aboard UK civil aircraft now exists." The government did not say if airlines would be required to use air marshals, how many flights they would travel on or who would pay for the program. "We are not discussing details because we don't want to give terrorists a chance to guess our intentions," a Transport Department spokesman said. "If you're a passenger on a flight from now on, you can assume that an armed officer could be on board." Earlier this month, the government said it was considering introducing the armed marshals on transatlantic flights. A government-commissioned report on airline safety recommended that if the program proved successful, it should be extended to most flights. Mr. Darling said the measure was part of government efforts after Sept. 11, 2001 to tighten airline security, including locks on cockpit doors and tougher screening of passengers and airport staff. Mervyn Granshaw, chairman of the British Air Line Pilots Association, said the group backed strong security measures, but believed the emphasis should be on preventing potential terrorists from boarding planes. "We have difficulties with the idea of having lethal weapons on board airliners." British Airways and Virgin Atlantic also said they were concerned about guns aboard planes. "However, we are working closely with the government to make sure these plans do not jeopardize onboard safety and to ensure that the correct procedures are in place should deployment be necessary," BA said. Prime Minister Tony Blair's spokesman emphasized the marshals would be well-trained. "This is not taking a bobby (police officer) off the beat and putting them on an airplane." Mr. Darling said the decision had not been made "in response to any new or specific intelligence." The U.S. Federal Air Marshal program started putting armed undercover officers on commercial airliners in 1970 to guard against hijackings. Their ranks had decreased by Sept. 11, 2001, but the program was stepped up after the attacks. The owner of Roger's Trinbago Site: Roj (Roger James) *************************************************** escape email mailto:ejames@escape.ca Trinbago site: http://www.tntisland.com CBC Website http://www.tntisland.com/caribbeanbrassconnection/ The Trinbago Site of the Week: (TnT News) http://www.tntmirror.com/ (TnT News) courtesy of Roj Trinbago Website & TnT Web Directory Roj's Trinbago Website: http://www.tntisland.com TnT Web Directory: http://search.co.tt *********************************************************