Counter-terror book is blocked

The publication of a book by a former top counter-terrorism officer has been blocked by the Attorney General.

Baroness Scotland obtained an injunction preventing The Terrorist Hunters from hitting the shelves as planned today.

The book, by the retired Scotland Yard assistant commissioner Andy Hayman and the former BBC home affairs correspondent Margaret Gilmore, focused on the struggle against terrorism since the July 7 attacks. It also looked at the murder of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko and gave a glimpse of top-level political and intelligence work.

The reasons behind the injunction cannot be published for legal reasons. Thousands of copies of the 372- page book had been delivered to bookshops. Sources said it had been vetted by the Cabinet Office, MI5 and MI6.