The head of Britain's domestic spy service told a group of senior lawmakers there was no imminent terrorist threat to the country less than 24 hours before the London bombings in July 2005, a newspaper reported yesterday.

Eliza Manningham-Buller, director-general of MI5, had been speaking at a private meeting of members of parliament for the governing Labour Party on the morning of July 6, the Guardian said, citing a number of those present.

She assured the group of a dozen parliamentary officials there was "no imminent threat to London or the country", the newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying.

The following day, four British Muslim suicide bombers attacked three subway trains and a bus during rush hour in the capital, killing themselves and 52 commuters.

A comment was not immediately available from the Home Office on the report, which drew a scathing response from the main opposition Conservative Party.

David Davis, Conservative spokesman for internal affairs, reiterated a call for an independent rather than a public inquiry into the attacks.

"It is absolutely necessary for the continued security of the British public that we know precisely if, when and how security failures have occurred, and for action to be taken to minimise the risk of it happening again," Davis told the paper.

Manningham-Buller said last month she would retire next year after more than three decades in the intelligence service, leaving at a time when MI5 faces heightened pressure to counter new terrorist threats.

The spy chief warned in November that Islamic extremists were plotting at least 30 major terrorist attacks in Britain and the threats may involve chemical and nuclear devices.

Terror alert e-mails

The MI5 launched a new e-mail alert service yesterday to warn the public about changes in the security threat level. Internet users will be able to register on the MI5 website to receive automatic electronic updates in their e-mail inboxes.

The e-mail alerts are the latest in a series of moves by MI5 and its partner, the international spy agency MI6, to open up to the public after decades of guarding extreme secrecy.

"It's part of the service's ongoing effort to improve its public communications and contribute to the government's policy of keeping the public informed about the national threat level," a spokeswoman for the home office said.

In recent years both MI5 and MI6 have begun to emerge from the shadows, launching websites offering security advice and information about careers in the spy services, and even running recruitment advertisements in newspapers. The spokeswoman said the e-mail alert service would inform people of threat level ratings which the government has been making public since last August.

The current rating is "severe", the second-highest level indicating the government believes an attack is highly likely. As well as signing up for threat updates, Internet users will also be able to register for e-mail alerts on any other new information posted on the MI5 website.

Source: China Daily/agencies