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SYDNEY - The latest terrorism plots in the United Kingdom show Australia's own anti-terrorism campaigns are justified, Prime Minister John Howard says.
"It is a reminder that in our kind of society, that our society and British are very similar, there are groups of people who hate our way of life and there are groups of people who will do us damage and cause death and injury," Mr Howard told reporters in Sydney.
"And that is why we have to invest a lot of money in security.
"It's why we have to be very vigilant and why we have to run campaigns saying 'be alert but not alarmed'.
"People sneered at the fridge magnets, [but] the fridge magnets and the hotline have provided innumerable leads to our security forces and I say to those who were cynical and critical, you're wrong."
Howard said the vigilance of the public could "stand between a successful terrorist attack and the safety of our way of life".
British police are hunting for accomplices of suspected militants who rammed a burning jeep into a Scottish airport at the weekend and tried to detonate two car bombs in central London.
"It is very important we persevere and none of us should take for granted this couldn't happen in Australia," Howard said.
"It could happen, thank God it has not happened to date, but we have to work hard as a nation and community to make sure we minimise the chances."
- AAP
