Row over bomb warnings as Britons told to leave Indonesia

The Government was under mounting pressure last night to disclose the intelligence it received about the threat to British people in Indonesia before the Bali bombing.

As the Foreign Office advised Britons to leave Indonesia after new intelligence that suggested they were at risk from further terrorist attacks, the Tories claimed British lives may have been put at risk because previous warnings were ignored.

Tony Blair told yesterday's cabinet meeting that "no specific warning" was given about last Saturday's atrocity, in which 180 people died and scores of others were injured. But his official spokesman admitted a "generic warning" was received via the US State Department about nightclubs or other places where Westerners might gather around the world.

Official advice on travel to Indonesia, posted on the Foreign Office's website, was changed on 27 August, when people were urged to be cautious while visiting six "hotspots" in Indonesia, including Bali.

The Conservative Party tabled Commons questions asking precisely what the Government knew and urged ministers to clear up the "growing confusion" over the warnings. They claimed No 10 had contradicted Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, who told the BBC yesterday that no warnings were received about Bali.

Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, said: "The British people need to know what warnings about a potential terrorist attack were received by the UK Government, when those warnings were received, what action was taken and whether the Prime Minister is content that all necessary steps were taken to protect British citizens."

Michael Ancram, the shadow Foreign Secretary, said ministers must reveal whether it received the same information as the Australian government, which has admitted it had US intelligence reports about a threat in Bali. "If that information was not shared with the Foreign Office, serious questions must be asked as to why information that could have saved British lives was not shared between the US and UK governments," he said.

But Mr Blair's spokesman insisted the intelligence had been "very broad-based, non-specific, about a generic threat", adding that there was a "big difference" between general and specific warnings. "You err on the side of caution, but you have to reach balanced judgements," the spokesman said. "Otherwise, the terrorists would close down the world."

Mr Blair said: "We can't predict when they will strike next, we can't predict where they will strike next. But we have to be honest about this, that there will be further attacks."

Mr Straw announced: "In the light of further information and consideration, I have now agreed that we should advise against all travel to Indonesia and recommend that all British citizens should consider leaving Indonesia."

The CIA director George Tenet, said yesterday that al-Qa'ida had reorganised and was now as serious a threat to the US as it was in the months before the attacks on 11 September last year.

Mr Tenet told the joint House and Senate intelligence committee: "It is serious, they've reconstituted, they are coming after us, they want to execute attacks. You see it in Bali, you see it in Kuwait."

¿ Indonesian police said yesterday they had summoned the Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Bashir for questioning in relation to a statement from a confessed al-Qa'ida member. Mr Bashir is said to be a prime suspect in the bombing in Bali.