Tony Blair Possible Terror Target, Court Hears

Local Editor

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his wife may have been the target of a terror attack, a court has heard on Tuesday.

As Britain's first secret terror trial opened at the Old Bailey, prosecutors alleged Erol Incedal, originally from London, was found with the address of Blair and his wife in a glasses case when he was first arrested last year [2013].

The Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] initially requested the proceedings be held in secret on the grounds of national security, but its application was rejected following an appeal launched by campaign groups and media organizations.

Prosecuting counsel, Richard Whittam QC, said that Incedal had not decided on a particular target, but that the Blairs' address may "have some significance".

He said that Incedal is believed to have been plotting to attack one prominent person, or a small group, or perhaps an indiscriminate attack on a hotel.

The proceedings are being held largely behind closed doors began at the Old Bailey on Tuesday. It is the first case of its kind in UK legal history.

The trial, which will largely be heard in secret, heard that police monitored Incedal, from south London after his first arrest for a road traffic offence in September last year [2013], when the address for the Blairs was first uncovered.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team