Both Brian Mikkelsen and Frank Jensen now tell of specific terror threats during their time as ministers of justice.
For both Frank Jensen and Brian Mikkelsen, their time as minister of justice left a lasting impression on how they subsequently viewed the world. (Photo: © Photos: Morten Juhl, Bent Midstrup, Niels Ahlmann Olesen, Linda Kastrup/Ritzau Scanpix - Collage: Morten Fogde Christensen/ DR Nyheder)
By
Frederik Bjerre Andersen ( [email protected] ) 52 minutes ago
When the UEFA Cup final was held on 17 May 2000 at Parken in Copenhagen, there was a bomb threat against the packed stadium with 40,000 fans.
This is revealed by the then Social Democratic Minister of Justice Frank Jensen in the podcast 'Svingdøren' on P1.
In the same program, Brian Mikkelsen says that during his time as Conservative Minister of Justice there was a specific and alarming terror threat against Denmark's busiest station, Nørreport in Copenhagen.
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'A gigantic threat'
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With a gap of 26 and approximately 16 years respectively, the two former ministers thus bring new information to light about terror threats against Denmark that have not previously been publicly known.
- We knew that at some point there would be a very imminent terror threat against Nørreport Station, says Brian Mikkelsen in 'Svingdøren'.
He was Minister of Justice from 2008-10. This was in the years after the Muhammad cartoons, which led to several plans for Islamist terrorist attacks against Denmark and especially Copenhagen.
The attack on Krudttønden and the Synagogue in Copenhagen became a reality in 2015.
But several other plans were uncovered by the authorities before they were carried out: for example, the terror case from Glasvej in 2007, the terror plans against Jyllands-Posten in 2010 – and the Chechen bomber Lors Doukajev, who that same year had his own plan foiled at Hotel Jørgensen in Copenhagen.
On 14 February 2015, Omar el-Hussein opened fire at an event at Krudttønden on Østerbro in Copenhagen and at the synagogue in the inner city. Film director Finn Nørgaard and volunteer guard Dan Uzan died in the two incidents. Here, police technicians are working at Krudttønden after the shooting. (Photo: © Liselotte Sabroe, Ritzau Scanpix)
According to Brian Mikkelsen, there were also intelligence reports about a specific terror plan against Nørreport Station while he was Minister of Justice from September 2008 to February 2010. At that specific time, he was on his way on a weekend trip to Rome – and discussed with the head of the Ministry of Justice whether he should cancel his plans, he says in 'Svingdøren':
- I simply could not leave Denmark. But we also agreed that if I changed my travel plans, someone might notice, explains Brian Mikkelsen.
- So I went, knowing that there was a gigantic threat against Danish society, and of course I was on the phone the whole time.
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The last one to make a decision
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In 'Svingdøren', Brian Mikkelsen says that his time as Minister of Justice helped shape him as a politician.
- There are many things that ordinary people know nothing about, and that are solved every single day by our police officers and our intelligence services, and that allow us to live a safe and secure life here at home.
* Frank Jensen was a Social Democratic politician and Minister of Justice for five years, from 30 December 1996 to 27 November 2001. (Photo: © Bent Midstrup, Nf-Nf/Ritzau Scanpix)
* Brian Mikkelsen was a Conservative politician and Minister of Justice for a year and a half, from 10 September 2008 to 23 February 2010. Here he is seen with then Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller. (Photo: © Linda Kastrup, Ritzau Scanpix)
1 / 2 Frank Jensen was a Social Democratic politician and Minister of Justice for five years, from 30 December 1996 to 27 November 2001. (Photo: © Bent Midstrup, Nf-Nf/Ritzau Scanpix) 1 / 2 Brian Mikkelsen was a Conservative politician and Minister of Justice for a year and a half, from 10 September 2008 to 23 February 2010. Here he is seen with then Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller. (Photo: © Linda Kastrup, Ritzau Scanpix) 2 / 2
Frank Jensen agrees with his former political colleague:
- We both have a great deal in our backpack of specific events where we are the last one to make a decision about what to do, he says.
Frank Jensen himself was Minister of Justice from 1997–2001. And thus also on 17 May 2000, when the UEFA Cup final was held at Parken with around 40,000 spectators.
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Attended football despite bomb threat
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Leading up to the match, there were violent brawls in the city streets between fans of the two finalists, English Arsenal and Turkish Galatasaray. But in 'Svingdøren', Frank Jensen says he received a notification about something far more violent.
- Then you are presented with: What do we do? Should we cancel? says Frank Jensen.
Galatasaray won the UEFA Cup final over Arsenal in the year 2000. The match was played at Parken in Copenhagen - and a few hours before kick-off, then Minister of Justice Frank Jensen was informed of a bomb threat against the Danish national arena. (Photo: © Morten Juhl, Nf-Nf/Ritzau Scanpix)
Frank Jensen himself was to attend the final at Parken together with Hanne Bech Hansen, who was head of the Copenhagen Police. As is known, they chose to go ahead with the event. But with precautions:
- We were instructed that if something happened, we should just lean back, and we would be pulled out of Parken. That is, over the backrest of your seat, says Frank Jensen.
However, he found it much more difficult to bear the responsibility for everyone around him:
- You had to take the ultimate responsibility for either cancelling with 40,000 spectators, or going ahead, knowing that suddenly a terrorist attack could happen.
He elaborates after the radio program that cancelling the match would also have major consequences, so all day he was in close contact with the police about the seriousness of the situation.
- They of course take it very seriously.
At one point, the police informed Frank Jensen that things were calm, he says, and they assessed that the match could safely go ahead. But, as he says in 'Svingdøren':
- I can say that this is the kind of thing that stays with you completely.
Neither the Copenhagen Police nor PET wish to comment on the mentioned threats, but PET writes in an email to DR that when they have information about threats against Denmark, they initiate efforts to uncover the origin and severity of the threats. If the threat cannot be dismissed, they implement security measures with the police so that, for example, a large event can be carried out in a reassuring manner.
"I have never worked so much before," says Frank Jensen about his five years as Minister of Justice. Hear much more about the two former ministers' experiences in the Ministry of Justice in 'Svingdøren' on DR Lyd:
Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.