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A laser that can scan a crowd and identify people who have been handling explosives is being secretly tested at British airports and railway stations.
The device – no bigger than a shoe box – could also be used by police and MI5 surveillance teams to identify Islamic terrorists outside mosques or community centres.
The laser can pick out suspects in large crowds and highlight explosive residue on their clothing and luggage.
It could also be used to guard against terrorists targeting the 2012 Olympics in London.
The Explosive Residue Detection system can be covertly attached to CCTV systems and automatically highlights people who may have been handling explosives or who recently fired a weapon.
Professor John Tyrer, of Loughborough University, who helped to develop the equipment, said: ‘When you handle an explosive, the chemicals -such as Semtex and TNT – leave traces. With this technology we are able to see this telltale residue and identify possible suspects.
‘Using laser technology we can see the explosives on people’s clothes, on their hands or on items like backpacks such as those used by the July 7 London bombers.’
