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* Prime Minister [[Tony Blair]] was on holiday during these events, but decided not to return to the UK. Blair had been notified of the raid prior to its occurrence, and kept in constant contact with officials. He briefed President [[George W. Bush]] about the raid overnight.<ref>{{cite web|title=PM pays tribute to police and security services |publisher=[[10 Downing Street]] |date=10 August 2006 |access-date=18 February 2009 |url=http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page9970.asp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071207223530/http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page9970.asp |archive-date=7 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, [[John Prescott]], running the UK government during Tony Blair's holiday, paid tribute to the way the UK reacted to what he called an "extraordinary past 36 hours… in the efforts to protect this country". He expressed his "deepest appreciation" to the "real dedication" shown by security services, police, transport staff and aviation companies and praised Home Secretary, John Reid, and [[Secretary of State for Transport|Transport Secretary]] [[Douglas Alexander]]. Prescott added that the British public had acted "calmly, sensitively and with great patience."<ref>{{cite news|title=Police quiz terror plot suspects |work=BBC News |date=12 August 2006 |access-date=18 February 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4783141.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070910212551/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4783141.stm |archive-date=10 September 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* On 12 August, British Muslim groups sent an open letter to the Prime Minister, stating that "current British government policy risks putting civilians at increased risk both in the UK and abroad."<ref name="UK Muslim letter">{{cite news|title=Full text: Muslim groups' letter |work=BBC News |date=12 August 2006 |access-date=18 February 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4786159.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404040043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4786159.stm |archive-date=4 April 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> The letter also stated "Attacking civilians is never justified", and encouraged the UK to reassess its foreign policy in order to maintain the safety of individuals both in the UK and abroad. In interviews with the BBC the following day, [[John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan|John Reid]] (then [[Home Secretary]]) described the letter as "a dreadful misjudgement", and former [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] leader [[Michael Howard]] described it as "a form of blackmail".<ref name="Muslim letter reaction">{{cite news|title=Muslim letter 'misjudged' – Reid |work=BBC News |date=13 August 2006 |access-date=18 February 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4788133.stm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203235219/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4788133.stm |archive-date=3 December 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Scepticism in response to the arrests===
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