MI5 reportedly keeps burned suspect alive

GLASGOW, Scotland, July 28 (UPI) -- The doctor who suffered severe burns in an abortive terrorist attack on a Scottish airport is reportedly being kept alive for political reasons.

Scotland on Sunday cited sources in the police and at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where Kafeel Ahmed is being treated. The newspaper reported that senior police sources say MI5, Britain's domestic security service, believes the longer Ahmed remains alive the less likely his death is to cause a major backlash among Muslims.

Ahmed was burned on more than 90 percent of his body when he and another doctor attempted to set off a sport utility vehicle loaded with flammable material at the airport's main entrance in June. He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where he worked as a doctor, and then transferred to the infirmary a few days later.

"It has been made very clear to the doctors by the 'powers that be' that they are to do anything and everything to keep Ahmed alive," a source said.

Some of Ahmed's doctors believe he is already brain-dead and another source said investigators realize there is little chance he will ever answer questions. His treatment has already cost 150,000 pounds ($300,000).