BIG BLUNDER! UK Terror Czar Resigns After Being Photographed Carrying Around Secret Anti-Terror Documents in the Open!

The police officer in charge of U.K. anti-terrorism operations resigned after he inadvertently revealed details of plans to arrest al-Qaeda-linked suspects.

Bob Quick, an assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan Police, carried a document detailing the probe in full view of photographers as he walked into Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s residence in Downing Street yesterday. Police later arrested 12 people in connection with the inquiry in northwestern England.

“I have today offered my resignation in the knowledge that my action could have compromised a major counter-terrorism operation,” Quick said today in an e-mailed statement. “I deeply regret the disruption caused to colleagues undertaking the operation and remain grateful for the way in which they adapted quickly and professionally to a revised timescale.”

The incident is a new blow for the Metropolitan Police, after former Commissioner Ian Blair resigned in October saying that Mayor Boris Johnson wanted him out. The force has struggled with the fallout from the shooting of an innocent Brazilian man during an anti-terrorism operation in 2005, and is under scrutiny again over the death of a man who collapsed shortly after being pushed to the ground by an officer during G-20 demonstrations in London last week.

Pictures of Quick carrying the document, which contained details of “Operation Pathway,” an investigation into the planning of a possible al-Qaeda-inspired attack against the U.K., appeared in national newspapers and on Web sites and were broadcast by television channels.

‘Security Breach’

The document, which could be clearly read, said suspects included Pakistani nationals in the U.K. on student visas. The raids were carried out earlier than planned as a result of the blunder, Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Peter Fahy said in televised press conference.

The operation “would have been carried out in the subsequent 24 hours, but what happened meant we brought the matter forward,” Fahy said. He added that police are not aware of any specific targets of the alleged plot.

Twelve people were arrested at eight addresses on suspicion of terrorism, Greater Manchester Police said in an e-mailed statement. Eleven are Pakistani nationals, Fahy told reporters.

Complete Story by Thomas Penny - Bloomberg