2 Jul 2009

Government bans former anti-terror chief's tell-all book

The attorney general has blocked the publication of a book by Britain's former head of counter-terrorism, Andy Hayman, that gives the inside story of the fight against Islamist extremism.

hayman

Lady Scotland stepped in at the last minute to obtain an injunction preventing The Terrorist Hunters from going on sale today. The move came even though copies of the book had been sent two months ago to the Crown Prosecution Service, the Cabinet Office, MI5 and MI6 and the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Its author, the retired Scotland Yard assistant commissioner Andy Hayman, gives a behind-the-scenes account of the 7 July attacks, the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes and the fight against terror.

He wrote about the murder of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko and his meetings with top-level political and intelligence officials.

Guardian.co.uk