Other British Plots Have Been Foiled

But Britons have been down this dangerous road many times and – with one terrible exception, lived to tell the tale.

The plan that succeeded was the infamous subway and bus bombing on July 7, 2005, which claimed the lives of 52 people.

Since then, security has been ratcheted up in the U.K. and the latest arrest proves it’s mostly been working. Here’s a look at some other terror plots they’ve thwarted since 9/11.

Dec. 22, 2001: Briton Richard Reid was overpowered by passengers and crew members on an American Airlines flight from Paris to Miami as he tried to ignite plastic explosives hidden in his shoes. He is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison.

January 2003: Police raided a London apartment and claimed to have foiled a plot to spread the deadly toxin ricin in London. Eight men were charged; four were acquitted and the other four were not tried. No traces of ricin had been found in the apartment, although scientists said the evidence showed attempts had been made to make the poison. A ninth suspect, Kamel Bourgass – an Algerian accused of links to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network – was convicted of murdering a policeman during his arrest.

February 2003: Light tanks and hundreds of troops were deployed at Heathrow Airport as police warned that Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida network might try attacking the British capital.

February 2004: British Airways several times canceled flights to Washington, D.C., and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, because of U.S. security alerts.

March 2004: Police arrested several men in southeast England and confiscated 1,300 pounds of chemical fertilizer from a London warehouse. Seven suspects are currently on trial, charged with plotting attacks on Britain’s electricity network, pubs, nightclubs and trains.

July 21, 2005:  Two weeks after the July 7 bombings, attackers again tried to hit three London subway trains and a bus. The devices failed to explode, and no one was injured. Five men face trial next year on charges of conspiring to murder transit passengers.

Undetermined Dates: British police have said they have foiled four terrorist plots since July 7, 2005, but have given few details. Police said recently they were investigating 70 suspected terrorist plots across Britain and the world.