THE convoy of unmarked white vans crawled past Green Street’s sari shops and grills.

Inside were firearms and anti-terrorist squad officers, in cumbersome chemical protection suits, goggles and boots.

Acting on intelligence from MI5, they were heading for the basement of a Victorian terraced house in East London, home to a Bangladeshi family.

At a 2am briefing the officers had been told that the threat was immediate and urgent. An hour later they were on their way to raid what was feared to be a kitchen-sink chemical weapons laboratory.

The danger was believed to be so serious that a flight exclusion zone had been imposed across half of London.

Tony Blair was notified of the impending raid before he was due to meet Romano Prodi, the Italian Prime Minister, in Rome. John Reid, the Home Secretary, was awake, awaiting the results of the raid.

At 3.58am the residents of Lansdown Road heard glass breaking and a loud thud. No one heard any shots; some heard shouting.

Within seconds police vans that had been hiding in nearby side streets had converged on the quiet street near West Ham United’s football ground.

Putnu Patel, a student, said: “I looked through my window and I saw the police vehicles. They were coming very quietly. The officers were wearing what looked like plastic bags on their feet, and some had masks. I thought that I was dreaming. There wasn’t any noise at all. I didn’t hear any bangs.”

By 4.30am some neighbours, predominantly second-generation Sikhs and Hindus from India, were in the street, watching more than 200 officers swarm around the house.

A 23-year-old Royal Mail employee was taken to the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel suffering from a single gunshot wound to the shoulder. He was arrested for suspected terrorist offences as he lay in a hospital bed.

His 20-year-old brother, was arrested at the scene and taken to the high-security Paddington Green police station for questioning. Local people said that he was a supermarket worker.

Two other people who were in the house at the time of the raid were also taken to hospital. One had head injuries; the other was suffering from shock. Both were later discharged.

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