UK security stepped up

Authorities have practised combating the threat of a "dirty bomb"

Customs officers in the UK are to be issued with new detection equipment in an effort to stop terrorists bringing in material for a radioactive bomb.

BBC News has learned equipment able to detect radioactivity will be made available to customs officers at any port or airport - potentially 1,000 locations.

Meanwhile police have played down newspaper reports al-Qaeda planned to drive fuel tankers, stuffed with plastic explosives, into the UK.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "There is no specific intelligence of places, events or people in the UK that would lead us at the moment to issue specific warnings to the public."

A senior British scientist warned MPs on Wednesday there was a "significant deficiency" in resources to cope with a bio-terror attack on the UK.

Dr Mike Crumpton, of the Academy of Medical Sciences, told the Commons science and technology committee the allocation of £330m for fighting terrorism in this year's Budget was not enough.

Equipment which detects radioactive material has been on trial at the port of Dover for the past six months checking cars and lorries.

The move is part of an international intelligence operation to stop so-called "dirty bombs" being used by terrorists.

This is an intelligence led response to potential terrorist threats

Terry Byrne
Customs and Excise

The Home Office said the new equipment was just one of many measures to improve port security and not a response to a particular threat.

Customs and Excise are using around £50m to set up this scheme - part of the extra allocation of £330m in the Budget.

They have only just been given this extra responsibility for counter-terrorism at ports, deemed to be a very important part of Britain's defences against terror groups.

Eventually the equipment will be mobile enough to be made deployed at any point of entry - there are around 1,000 in the UK - if the FBI or MI6 intelligence identifies a risk at any particular port or airport.

The equipment can be permanent or mobile.

BBC correspondent Robert Hall said customs officials had said the new equipment was just part of the upgrade of security at Dover, which is one of Europe's busiest ports.

British customs officers have had to devise a more flexible response to new threats such as that posed by terrorist dirty bombs.

Intelligence sharing

The director of law enforcement at customs and excise Terry Byrne told BBC News: "Instead of having static customs officers at ports around Britain, we feel it is more effective to be able to deploy teams where intelligence dictates.

"This is an intelligence-led response to potential terrorist threats."

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme : "This is more about posing a deterrence and a future detection capability to try and head off these opportunities for terrorists, rather than to counter any specific threat today."

Up to 700 staff could be involved in the operation which will see American officers working alongside their counterparts in the UK for the first time at big container ports to stop terrorist material being shipped across the Atlantic.

'Part of jigsaw'

The two authorities will share intelligence to a far greater degree than at present.

The main ports in question will be Dover, Felixstowe, Southampton and Liverpool.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "Detection equipment similar to this is in place in other countries, such as the USA. It is one part of the jigsaw.

"This is sensible contingency planning. It does not mean that there is an increased or specific threat from radiological material."

Michael Clarke, of the International Policy Institute, told the BBC counter-terrorism would still rely on penetrating terrorist cells and getting tip-offs about possible attacks.