Britain's Top Counterterrorism Officer Resigns After Security Blunder

LONDON, April 9 -- Britain's top counterterrorism officer resigned Thursday after he was photographed clutching secret documents in which the details of a major terrorism operation were clearly visible.

The security blunder forced officials to carry out raids against suspected al-Qaeda operatives earlier than they had planned. Those raids resulted in the arrests of 12 suspects, officials said.

A photographer snapped pictures of Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick, in charge of the counterterror unit at Scotland Yard, entering 10 Downing Street, the British prime minister's office, on Wednesday with a white document marked "secret."

Hours later, hundreds of police officers swooped in on eight locations in Manchester, Liverpool and nearby areas, according to a statement by the Greater Manchester police. The suspects -- 11 Pakistani nationals and a Briton -- were arrested under the Terrorism Act, the statement said. They range in age from late teens to 41. No other details of the alleged plot were released.

The simultaneous raids were originally scheduled for dawn Thursday but were bumped up after Quick inadvertently flashed the documents, according to a police official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Telephoto lenses captured such details as "AQ driven attack planning within the UK" and "Merseyside -- Dynamic entry, firearms."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown told reporters that officers had been investigating a "major terrorist plot."

In a statement, Quick said: "I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counter terrorism operation. I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised timescale."

Boris Johnson, the London mayor and chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, said he accepted Quick's resignation with "great reluctance and sadness." Assistant Commissioner John Yates will replace Quick as head of counterterrorism, officials said.

When it became apparent that confidential details had been photographed, the Defense Press and Broadcasting Advisory Committee, an independent panel that advises the news media on national security matters, issued an advisory asking the media to refrain from publishing the pictures until after the raids.

But while the British media obliged, officials worried that the pictures could swiftly slip in to the public domain anyway, according to Andrew Vallance, the committee's secretary, who issued the voluntary gag order. "If that happened," he said, "the operation would have been hanging on a string, and so it had to be brought forward."

The photos were broadcast widely and plastered across the front pages of most British newspapers Thursday.