PC GEORGE DIXON used to stand outside Paddington Green to deliver his weekly homily in the black-and-white days when policemen were avuncular figures and young offenders were dealt with by a clip around the ear.

Today this police station is a very different place; an ugly office building with a heavily fortified secure interrogation centre in the basement.

Britain’s most-important prisoners were taken there last week by armed, masked policemen who could not be further from the image of the London bobby portrayed in Dixon of Dock Green.

Three men alleged to have been the July 21 bombers are undergoing patient, persistent interviews in the basement rooms of the anti-terrorist branch’s holding cells.

Another man is being questioned about the nail bomb found discarded at Little Wormwood Scrubs after the failure of the attempted attacks on the Underground and a No 26 bus.

A total of 11 people are now being questioned in London about the July 7 and July 21 attacks. With only 16 cells at Paddington Green, any overflow prisoners will be held at Charing Cross police station.

One visitor to the unit said: “It is a very spartan, bare, minimalist place. I felt very uncomfortable just visiting.”

Upon arrival at Paddington Green, suspects go through a long admission procedure before being taken to their cells or allowed to see their solicitor. Mudassar Arani, a solicitor who has represented terror suspects, has given lectures to young Muslims about their rights if arrested.

She said last year: “It can take up to three hours for one person’s finger prints, DNA, and photographs to be taken.”

The suspects are held in small, bare cells on each side of a corridor. To prevent self-harm or suicide attempts, there is no furniture in the cells apart from a fixed bed.

Muslim prisoners are given a Koran, halal food, prayer mats and visits from an imam if requested. A medical examination takes place before any interviews.

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