Terror of ricin spreads to the leafy streets of Manchester

As murder inquiry begins, questions will be raised over how officers prepared for counter-terrorism operation

Crumpsall Lane, the tree-lined street in north Manchester where Special Branch arrived to detain a man at about 6pm yesterday, appears to be a respectable suburb.

It is located deep inside a semi-affluent district, home to a thriving Jewish community for the past 30 years and now a multicultural area of East Europeans, Asian Muslims and North Africans.

But residents were coming to terms last night with the fact that the terror of ricin, traces of which were found in London, had reached this place.

No substance appears to have been found at Number 4 Crumpsall Lane, where Greater Manchester Police officers attempted to arrest a North African man. But the force immediately confirmed that their operation was connected to the discoveryin Wood Green, London, last week, and that the man they came to detain was an associate of those arrested in the capital. Some people in Manchester were using hindsight to make some sense of the police operation, in which a 40-year-old detective constable was killed.

Samina Khan, a 41-year-old mother of four, said the conversion of the lane's large houses into flats in the past few years had "not been a good thing", creating a more transient community. "People come and go and we don't know who they are," she said.

Tahir Parvaiz, a teacher aged 44, agreed. "One can only guess at the kind of people who stay in those flats,'' he said. "They are people from travelling communities, asylum-seekers, those from very many backgrounds. Nobody knows who they are. You might say it's an easy place to hide yourself.''

Mellech Rudin and John Hock, Jewish residents and property investment consultants, said the problem was not specific to the area. "You would never have sniffed this ricin business out here,'' said Mr Rudin, 26, as he peered at the forensic officers making their way in the shadows to the scene of the murder. "There have been more refugees in the last couple of years but it's a harmonious place. If an associate of the ricin gang could be here, they could be anywhere.''

A murder inquiry will begin today, led by a detective chief superintendent, but Greater Manchester Police will also be examining how well prepared the officers were for the dangers that they faced when they entered a first or second floor flat in a three-storey Victorian redbrick building near the junction of Middleton Road, a main artery into the city.

Two tactical aid officers – a uniformed sergeant and police constable – went in wearing body armour to make the flat safe by constraining the suspects. Special Branch officers followed them in. After about an hour, one of the suspects broke free from constraints and began attacking the tactical aid officers. One of the Special Branch officers was fatally wounded with a large bread knife in the ensuing scuffle. Three officers suffered stab wounds and two other injuries, including a broken ankle.

The three men were eventually overpowered and arrested but attempts to resuscitate the murder victim outside the flat failed and he died of serious stab wounds at North Manchester Hospital, little more than a mile away.

Michael Todd, the force's new Chief Constable, arrived at the scene to face his most difficult test last night as his staff established contact with the victim's relatives. He praised the "incredible bravery" shown by the Special Branch officer. Assistant Chief Constable Alan Green added: "We've lost a colleague and a good friend tonight.'' He was flanked by two police vans and two police cars in Crumpsall Lane. "Our thoughts are also with the other officers.''

The spectre of the ricin operation being linked to Manchester was also of concern, he said. "It is concerning but in respect of the terrorist threat we are carrying out a thorough, intelligence-led operation,'' he said.

In the line of fire - deaths on duty

More than 50 officers have been killed in the past 30 years on Britain's streets.

Among the most infamous murders was that of PC Keith Blakelock, right, who was hacked to death during the Broadwater Farm riots in London in 1985.

In March 2001, PC Alison Armitage, from Manchester, became the fifth female constable to be killed in the line of duty when a car thief in Oldham drove over her repeatedly as he tried to escape. Her killer was jailed for eight years.

Other women officers killed in the line of duty include PC Nina Mackay, who was stabbed by a paranoid schizophrenic in October 1997.

In February 1984, PC Yvonne Fletcher, right, was shot dead outside the Libyan embassy while controlling a crowd of protesters.

Two months earlier, Jane Arbuthnot died in the IRA bombing of Harrods.

In December 2000, PC John Odell of Kent Police was hit and killed by a car as he checked drivers' speeds in Margate.