London - London police took special measures to protect British Prime Minister Tony Blair three years ago after receiving intelligence reporting an al-Qaeda assassination plot, a former police chief says.
John Stevens, former chief of Metropolitan Police, said the intelligence warned of an attempt to kill the prime minister during celebrations of Queen Elizabeth's 50 years on the throne.
In his memoirs, serialised Sunday In The News Of The World, Stevens said Blair was unmoved by the threat.
"Mr Blair remained very calm and very pragmatic. He knew there was a specific threat against him and his wife yet he remained absolutely unfazed," Stevens wrote.
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"It was discussed in detail but neither was interested in wearing a bulletproof vest. They had absolute trust in the security services. I have nothing but admiration for the way they handled what would have been extremely frightening."
Stevens said armed, plainclothes officers surrounded Blair and his wife Cherie at the Golden Jubilee Parade on June 4, 2002.
"The fact that nothing untoward did happen was again a tribute to our intelligence gathering and the precautions we took," Stevens wrote.
Stevens' memoirs, Not For The Faint-Hearted, are to be published on September 19. - Sapa-AP
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