SAS unit set up because of kidnap risk

The setting up of a permanent SAS unit in London was prompted, in part, by the threat of a terror kidnapping similar to the alleged plot in Birmingham, it was disclosed today.

It emerged only a week ago that an elite unit had been placed on 24-hour stand-by in the capital to respond to a terrorist attack.

The threat of a "close quarters abduction" was one of the main reasons for moving a cadre of the crack troops down to the capital, according to Whitehall sources.