Friday, September 22, 2000 HUNT FOR REAL IRA Police fear rocket attack on spy HQ was warning to Labour THE hunt was on last night for the Real IRA terrorists blamed for the rocket attack on MI6's London HQ. Experts said it was a publicity stunt by the dissident republicans, designed to grab headlines around the world, rather than kill. But the security operation at next week's Labour conference has been tightened after the adacious strike. It had all the hallmarks of the terror group who have used the lightweight RPG-18 missiles north and south of the Irish border and oppose the Peace Agreement. Forensic teams were last night continuing a hands-and-knees search of the launch site in Spring Gardens park in Vauxhall Cross, 200 yards from the spy network at the side of the Thames. Six months go, an RPG-18 was seized before an attack on an Army base in County Tyrone. It is thought that operation was a training run for the strike on the the MI6 base - similar to the rocket launch on the building by terrorists in the recent James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. Police and the secret services know a highly armed Real IRA unit is active in London and were behind bomb attacks on Hammersmith Bridge and a rail line earlier this summer. They say the warring group - who claimed 29 lives in the Omagh car-bomb - could strike again at any time, any where. Deputy Assistant Commissioner Alan Fry said: "This was an audacious attack on a busy part of London. "We all need to be vigilant. We will hunt down whoever is responsible." Former Scots special forces soldier Robert Scott said: "There was no military reason for the attack, it was purely for publicity. "Attacking such a high profile target in the heart of London will guarantee them publicity around the world." He said it was no surprise it only caused minimal damage - the real impact was to rattle the security forces and keep up their profile. Terrorism expert David Capitanchik, of Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University, said: "It was more a symbolic attack against such a building representing British power. I think they are likely to carry out more attacks." Police fear there next move will be a "spectacular", a huge bomb to destroy the heart of a British city, like the ones that wrecked the City of London, Docklands and Manchester city centre. But it was probably just one man who fired the shoulder rocket and escaped with a getaway driver. Mark Gale, who runs a nearby pub, The Lavender, said: "There was a huge blast from the park. "It shook the whole pub and made the spirit bottles rattle on the shelves. I felt the shock wave in my stomach." A member of the security forces said the missile and launcher are the size of an umbrella and can fit under a coat. The attack - from aiming, firing and escape - probably took just 90 seconds. The terrorist cell is thought to have many more rockets. Police hunting for clues and witnesses believe Wednesday night's attack was a message to the Government ahead of Labour's Brighton conference. A senior Scotland Yard source said: "The timing is not a coincidence. The rocket could just as easily been aimed at the Grand Hotel next week . "After what the Provos did to the Tories when they bombed the Grand in 1983, it sends a chill down the spine."
