Ultimatum (11 page)

In the Cabinet Room at Number Ten the Prime Minister, a thick-set slightly hunched figure, sat at the head of a long table, outwardly calm and relaxed, mouthing an unlit pipe. His mind, as it happened, was anything but calm and relaxed. On his right sat the Secretary for the Home
Department
, on his left, the Secretary to the Cabinet. The far end of the table was headed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to his right the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, to his left the Secretary of State for Defence.

Along the flanks of the table sat those fourteen Members of the Cabinet who had been able to attend.

The muted hum of conversation ceased when the Prime Minister put down his pipe and cleared his throat – familiar signals that the business of the Cabinet was about to begin. He looked at the ceiling, then at his notes. ‘You will, I am sure, appreciate that I would not have called you to this meeting at such short notice with neither agenda nor
supporting
papers except under the most exceptional
circumstances
.’

The Prime Minister paused, his eyes searching the faces along the table. ‘I regret to say that the circumstances are both exceptional and appalling. This morning’s post brought to me, as it did to the Ambassador of the United States, to the Director-General of the BBC, and the editors of
The
Times
and
Daily
Express
,
an ultimatum. An ultimatum which threatens the continued existence of this country as a free and independent nation.

‘Before I read it to you I will ask the Secretary to distribute copies. The documents are numbered and we will, I am afraid, require their return at the end of the meeting.’

When the copies of the ultimatum had been distributed
the Prime Minister read it aloud, clause by clause, in measured tones. At its conclusion he said, ‘That, then, is the situation which confronts us. I have some advantage in that I have had five hours in which to consider the document. During that time I have consulted with the United States Ambassador, with the heads of our security services, with Sir George Isaacson, and others including the Chief of the General Staff. For that reason, I feel I should draw your attention to certain aspects of the ultimatum before opening the matter for discussion.

‘In the first place let me say that all the evidence available makes it clear that this is no hoax. We have already checked with the French Government and they confirm that the nuclear warhead depicted in the photographs is the one found to be missing after the so-called Israeli commando raid on Beirut Port on the night of October fifth/sixth.’

The Prime Minister paused, looked blandly down the rows of faces turned towards him, a sure sign, his listeners knew, that the punch line had still to come. ‘Some of you may not be familiar with the background and history of this terrorist organisation. Let me explain. In 1972, a young Palestinian, Marwan Haddad, quarrelled with Yasir Arafat and broke away from the PLO. Assuming a new name and appearance, he formed the Soukour-al-Sahra’ – the Desert Hawks – the most militant, ruthless and aggressive of the Liberation movement’s extremist groups. The name he took for his new role was Mahmoud el Ka’ed.

‘No …’ The Prime Minister shook his head emphatically. ‘This ultimatum is no hoax. There is, of course, the
possibility
– and our security services are well aware of this – the possibility, I say, that a certain aspect of the ultimatum may be a hoax but only, and I repeat only, in the sense that the missing warhead may not be in London. It may still be in the Middle East. But I ask you … can we conceivably gamble on such a possibility with the lives of hundreds of thousands of our people, indeed with the very security of our country at risk? That is the grim, the wicked irony of our situation. The warhead may well be in the Middle East.
But equally, it may well be in London. Ka’ed says it
is
in London. He is a proven fanatic, a ruthless, dangerous man. You may ask … how could this terrorist group possibly have smuggled an object of such size and weight into London? That is a valid question, but it is not one we have now to answer.

‘The Government has been presented with an ultimatum. We have been given seventy-two hours, from noon today, in which to decide our response to its demands. It is for that purpose I have called you here today. It is not a matter which – at this stage at any rate – can be discussed in the House of Commons with all its attendant publicity. Shortly before this meeting began I had a private discussion with the Leader of the Opposition. He will of course consult his Shadow Cabinet, but he has in the meantime undertaken not to do or say anything which might add to our difficulties. I need hardly add that he fully appreciates the gravity of the situation.

‘There are a number of matters which we shall have to discuss in the course of this meeting. The probable area of destruction of the warhead. The baffling problem as to where in this vast city it may be. What announcement we must make to the people of London – to the country – and when. Are we to declare a state of national emergency, to introduce martial law? Can we conceivably arrange an orderly evacuation of London in the time available? In what language should we couch such an instruction if we are to preclude,’ he hesitated, ‘some sort of mass hysteria? What will be the attitude of the United States Government? Clearly, their co-operation is essential if the terms of the ultimatum are to be met. And what of France, West
Germany
and other NATO powers?

‘Last, but by no means least, what reaction can we expect from Israel … the country which, if the ultimatum succeeds, has to pay the greatest price.

‘Ka’ed threatens – his record suggests it is no idle threat – that, should the warhead be found by us, should we take steps to deal with it, or the terrorists responsible for it, it will at once be detonated.

‘The terms of the ultimatum are not, he says, negotiable, indeed there is no one with whom to negotiate. I doubt if any government, any nation, has ever been confronted with an ultimatum so devastingly ruthless, so implacably
one-sided
.

‘It must be clear to you, as it is to me, that, if this
ultimatum
succeeds – and how we are to prevent it from doing so is as yet beyond my comprehension – then no great city, no nation, is safe. Historians may say that this was the final breakdown of the rule of law in our western civilisation. It is London today, it could be New York tomorrow, Paris or Berlin the next day. Indeed all the great capitals of the world, all the nations to which they belong, could be at the mercy of small groups of ruthless, mindless terrorists and criminals.

‘There is no shortage of such creatures, no absence of causes or projects for which they would not be prepared to risk all.

‘What then, you may ask, are we to do? And I must reply that as yet I see no solution. Whatever decisions we take … must be taken within the next,’ the Prime Minister looked at the clock on the wall, ‘within the next sixty-nine hours.

‘I have already given instructions for the immediate recall of our ambassadors to the Lebanon, Syria and Israel so that we may consult with them. Sir Neville Ashton, our Ambassador in Beirut, has at my request already seen Yasir Arafat who has told him that the PLO disclaims all
knowledge
of and responsibility for the ultimatum which it deplores. Arafat repudiated Mahmoud el Ka’ed and his terrorist group in the strongest terms, reminding Ashton that the PLO had long-since outlawed the Soukour-al-Sahra’ which it regarded as a thoroughly irresponsible and
dangerous
splinter group. Nothing could have been more damaging to the Palestine Liberation movement, Arafat said, than this ultimatum which he described as savage and barbaric. He did add, however, that the pusillanimity of Great Britain and the United States in regard to the
dismemberment 
of Palestine and the tragic plight of the Palestinian peoples invited action of this sort by radical extremist groups.

‘Ashton believes Yasir Arafat to be sincere. The Arab leader was, he says, clearly appalled by what has transpired.

‘As soon as I had read and digested the contents of the ultimatum I requested the DGSS, the Special Branch and Scotland Yard to concentrate all their energy and resources upon discovering the whereabouts of the warhead and those associated with it. I authorized them to give absolute priority to this operation, to make use of every man available, and to take whatever steps they deem necessary. Fortunately, search without warrant is permissible where the presence of explosives is suspected – and that, in the circumstances, means the whole of London.

‘I need hardly tell you that I have stressed beyond all doubt that if the warhead is traced nothing – I repeat
nothing
with all the emphasis at my command – is to be done by way of interference with it, or the persons
responsible
for it, without reference to me.

‘During the course of this morning I went to the Palace and informed the Queen of the ultimatum. I urged
cancellation
of her appointments over the next few days and asked her to leave London at once. This she has done with the greatest reluctance. I am pleased to say she is now at Sandringham. A bulletin is to be issued by the Royal
Household
announcing that she has been obliged to cancel her appointments because of an indisposition which, while not in itself serious, requires that she should rest.

‘The Duke of Edinburgh has refused point blank to leave London. I had no option but to accept this highly predictable decision which may yet prove helpful in
sustaining
the morale of Londoners during the ordeal which is soon to confront them.

‘One more word… I have thought it necessary – indeed essential – to have at our disposal during this meeting those key officials whose knowledge and experience can best assist us.

‘They are at present in the ante-room where they are being briefed by Sir Brynne Evans and the Head of the Special Branch. When we have concluded our private discussions I propose calling them in for the general discussion. You will have an opportunity then of putting to them any
questions
you may have in mind. I will now ask the Secretary to read to you their names.’

In the discussion which followed the formal meeting in the Cabinet Room the enormity of the problem posed by the ultimatum was discussed in all its aspects.

Sir George Isaacson, opening at the Prime Minister’s request, pointed out that the basic problem confronting the Government was starkly simple. Somewhere within the 120 square miles comprising the County of London there was believed to be a nuclear warhead liable to be detonated in seventy-two hours, or earlier if those responsible for it so decided. Everything they would discuss centred around that fact.

The nuclear physicists expressed the opinion that a nuclear warhead of 15 kilotons, equivalent to 15,000 tons of TNT, detonated at ground level, would devastate an area within a radius of 8 to 10 miles. There would be grave problems of radioactive fall-out over a far greater area.

The nuclear weapons experts explained the functioning of a tactical nuclear warhead. It would, they said, be entirely practical to detonate a Pluton warhead by means of an electrical or mechanical timing device, and if necessary to by-pass that device to secure instant detonation. They explained the design, size and weight of the warhead and agreed it could have been introduced into London in a number of different ways without being detected. Adding a lugubrious footnote, they said detonation of the warhead would create an urban catastrophe without parallel since Hiroshima.

The Chairman of the Combined Intelligence Committee, Sir Brynne Evans, speaking for the intelligence services,
said that there were no clues whatever as to the whereabouts of the warhead. A search on an unprecedented scale was being mounted and London would be fine-combed by more than 3,000 men. Until an official announcement had been made the operation would be hampered since searchers would not be able to say for what they were looking, nor could a general appeal be made to the public for information which might provide leads.

Sir Brian Parkes, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, agreed that a public announcement would do much to help and he urged one as soon as possible.

The head of the Special Branch, Assistant-Commissioner Dugald McGann, said, ‘There are good reasons to suppose that the warhead came by sea. It would be extremely difficult, though not impossible, to smuggle such a large, heavy object by air. In this instance the lapse of time between the theft of the warhead in Beirut and release of the ultimatum here strongly suggest a sea passage – and a slow one at that. ‘The warhead,’ he went on, ‘may still be in a ship or other vessel somewhere in London Docks or
elsewhere
on the Thames. We are, with the assistance of the Port of London Authority and the Metropolitan Police, organizing a search of all ships, barges and boats in the area concerned, and it will begin to-night. Ships which have arrived from Middle East ports are being given special priority and we are with the help of HM Customs and Immigration examining cargo manifests, bills of lading, passenger lists and immigration records on a systematic basis. We are carrying out similar checks at other major ports and airports. This is a time-consuming operation, complicated by the fact that until the public announcement is made we cannot say what we are looking for.’

There was long discussion about the possibility of a mass evacuation of London, other than personnel required to maintain essential services such as power, water, transport and sewage. The Director-General of the GLC, Andrew Watt, giving the logistics of such an operation, made it clear that it was not remotely possible.

Dugald McGann said that the Special Branch was pulling in for questioning persons known or suspected to have affiliations with the Palestine Liberation movement. In addition a number of informers were at work among the Palestinian community, particularly in London.