British Security Group Combats Terrorism with Cleanliness

The British spy organization, MI5, publicly issued anti-terrorist advice today, calling on Britain and the world to implement its "practice points for dealing with the terrorist threat." Among its recommendations is a warning on the "perils of dense shrubbery" in garden areas.

MI5's report is broken down into ten sections with 4 or 5 points of advice in each. The section that warns about shrubbery, titled "Basic Good Housekeeping," also includes other warnings on the "hazards of a messy room" and the "dangers of dirty dishes." MI5 Director General Eugene Harrison commented that rooms must be kept clean because "terrorists could be hiding anywhere, even below that piece of furniture you haven't vacuumed under since the late 1980s." Similarly, a sink full of dirty dishes "is a likely place for terrorists to hide bombs or other delicate electronic devices."