LONDON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- British police have uncovered a plot to kidnap the 5-year-old son of Prime Minister Tony Blair, it emerged Wednesday.
Officers from Special Branch, the intelligence wing of the police, discovered the plan as they investigated the activities of the radical fathers' rights group, Fathers 4 Justice, the Sun newspaper reported.
Blair and his wife, Cherie, were informed of the threat to Leo, the youngest of their four children.
A security source told the newspaper: "They were naturally very concerned, as any parent would be. But they have been assured the police are on top of the situation."
Special Branch then carried out a security assessment of the family, including an analysis of the protection given to the Blairs' three older children: Euan, 21, Nicholas, 20, and 17-year-old Kathryn.
The source said: "Appropriate steps have now been taken."
Police are said to believe radical elements on the group's fringes were behind the plot, but that they did not have the ability to carry it out.
It is understood to have been discovered in its early -- what police call "chattering" -- stages.
Special Branch came across the plan to abduct the child just before Christmas.
Police did not disclose the details of how Leo was to be snatched, but reportedly believe the would-be perpetrators only planned to hold him for a short period as a symbolic gesture and did not intend to harm him.
The security source said: "Fortunately we think we have nipped this in the bud at an early stage. There have been no arrests although inquiries are continuing. It was good intelligence work."
Fathers 4 Justice aims to highlight the plight of fathers denied access to their children by the family courts. It first came to public attention in May 2004 when two of its members gained access to House of Commons chamber and bombarded Blair with purple flour bombs.
Other high-profile stunts include a five-hour protest by a campaigner dressed as Batman who scaled a wall of Buckingham Palace in September 2004. In March 2005, three members dressed as superheroes climbed onto a Foreign Office balcony overlooking Downing Street. The incidents caused major security alerts.
Officially the police are making no comment, while Downing Street has refused to confirm or deny the story -- as is usual practice with security matters. However the BBC reported police sources as confirming they knew of the plot.
Fathers 4 Justice Founder Matt O'Connor said he was horrified by the revelation and would shut the group down rather than allow it to be "hijacked" by extremists.
The group has suspended its activities pending inquiries into the allegations, and is to hold a news conference Thursday to discuss its future.
He said: "After peacefully campaigning for three years to ensure children get to see their fathers, we condemn any individual who planned this appalling outrage which is anathema to our campaign.
"I have three young boys myself and couldn't think of anything more traumatic for Mr. Blair, his family and his son than what is reported in this morning's Sun newspaper."
O'Connor said he would rather shut the group down than allow it to be undermined by extremists, many of who, he claimed, were not even members but simply used the name.
"I will not let this organization be hijacked by militants and I ask all fathers to respect our commitment to peaceful non-violent direct action no matter how aggrieved they feel about their treatment at the family courts."
Special Branch began investigating the group due to concerns about growing extremism in its ranks. During a 12-month investigation by ITV broadcast in November, group members were filmed boasting about plans to vandalize court buildings.
Security analyst Charles Shoebridge said Fathers 4 Justice had no record of "major criminality" and this plot would have been "a very different matter -- child abduction is itself a very serious offence."
"Let's not forget somebody could easily be killed in an attempt like this -- not just the Fathers 4 Justice campaigners, if indeed they were Fathers 4 Justice, but an innocent passer-by could be hit in police crossfire," said the former Metropolitan Police anti-terrorism officer.
Former Scotland Yard Commander Roy Ramm agreed that in the current climate of heightened security and terror attacks "someone could have quite easily got shot."
It "could really have led to catastrophic results for the child, for the police officers faced perhaps with challenging and preventing that attack and indeed for the attackers themselves."
