Senior civil servant given task of leading hunt for terrorists

A senior civil servant was appointed by Tony Blair last night to lead the hunt for terrorists amid fears among ministers that Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network is plotting an attack in Britain.

Sir David Omand, a former permanent secretary at the Home Office, will assume responsibility for sharpening the Government's intelligence and security effort.

He will be given the title Security and Intelligence Coordinator and Permanent Secretary, Cabinet Office, in a newly created post.

The influential Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee warned yesterday that the country was still at "severe" risk of biological attack from Islamic extremists, despite the successful campaign to overthrow the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. It called on the Government to ensure the security services had enough money and manpower to keep track of terrorist suspects.

And in his Downing Street press conference, Mr Blair appealed to the public to remain vigilant because the threat from al-Qa'ida terrorists remained high.

The appointment of Sir David comes after the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which has access to classified material, criticised the failure of the intelligence agencies to take more urgent action to counter the threat posed by the al-Qa'ida network before 11 September.

Sir David, 54, will take over much of the responsibility for coordinating the work of MI5, MI6 and the GCHQ "listening post" from the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Richard Wilson. He will be given a seat on the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC).

The Independent revealed last month that the Government had been warned by the intelligence services that the threat to Britain from terrorist attacks remains as high as in the immediate aftermath of the 11 September atrocities.