Following the recent terrorist scare regarding explosives hidden in printer ink and toner cartridges, the Secretary of State for Transport has issued directions prohibiting the carriage by air of ink or toner cartridges.

This impacts both inland and international carriage of ink and toner cartridges by Royal Mail (much inland postage is still carried by plane). To comply with the directions Royal Mail are unable to fly any ink or toner cartridges over 500g through their UK or international network until further notice. They are advising customers that they can still post ink and toner, but to be aware of potential delays to these items reaching their destinations.

If you sell printer ink or toner on eBay, Amazon or your own website it’s probably worth informing customers of potential delivery delays for this type of product. If you’re running short of supplies for your own printer make sure you replenish your supplies in plenty of time before you run out.

Is this a sensible decision by the government, or a reaction to a media story?

What is going to stop them using something else that is hollow…?

This is madness.. just say it’s developer.. they must think the terrorists are stupid..

The whole thing is a joke, next it’ll be laptops, then footballs, then shoes, when will it end..

So …. if you were ‘the government’, tell me, what would you do?

“if you were ‘the government’, tell me, what would you do?”

spend a few billion on trident nuclear missiles ,those missiles are a great deterent to ink toner bombs

Trident Missiles? I thought you were going to say ‘start using them’

what a good idea lets fill them with ink toner

Stupidity at it’s finest..

surely its where it comes from and where its going that matters not what it is

A favourite in many novels over the years has been the book hollowed out with a bomb or whatever hidden inside it. In reality there is probably nothing that a determined terrorist could not put a bomb into. So does that mean that the Government will end up banning everything. After all again in novels(and probably in reality) we have had guns and other weapons being declared as “Farm Impliments” or “Machine Parts”. Unless they are going to open up(or perhaps X-ray everything) they are going to have to accept what it says in any Customs Declaration. Nobody is going to declare it as a bomb so each time the terrorist picks a differant cover for their bombs we are going to see another item banned.

Thankfuly we buy our’s in Germany & have GOOD stock to PRINT OUR SHIIPING LABELS OVER CHRISTMAS……

I would like to know how the Royal Mail can determine that its a Toner Cartridge being carried? As I doubt ‘inland mail’ gets scanned.

If someone decides to conceal an explosive within their own body will the government then decide to ban all people from planes as well?

So, a toner cartridge for a laser printer is banned, but a new drum for a laser printer is not ?

What about a new printer – don’t they come with a new toner pre-installed, or are the manufacturers now going to ship printers with no toner in ?

I heard that the toners were packed in cardboard boxes. It does seem to me that these boxes offer a very easy way of packing all manner of dangerous objects at minimal cost, and I’m surprised that the government hasn’t closed such a gaping loophole.

Its nothing to do with the weight/size, its about a container filled with powder with a electrical device attached. eg. a toner cart. which will look the same in an xray as a explosive powder with a detonator attached. Keep up kids this is terrorism 101.

With all the couterfiet stuff travelling around the world in containers etc’, I doubt anyone has any real control over any of this, but the goverment has to be seen to be doing something.

I often go into my LOCAL main London sorting office to drop off sacks of mail, & believe me, when you see the sheer volumes, & speed the stuff moves, I too doubt any real checks could be done, without turning 1st & 2nd class mail into snail mail.

I agree, and honestly whats the chances of a Royal Mail internal UK flight getting targeted by al qaeda ?

Over the years there have bveen several press articles about reporters taking dummy suspect devices through the searches/x-rays at Airports without being picked up. In reality after a couple of hours looking at an x-ray screen I doubt if the operators are capable of identifying a bomb no matter how many wires are attached. Like everything this totally awful Government does its all for show.

I agree Chris, but also terrorism (as we know it today) has been getting worse since 9/11 & 7/7 shows this & how easy it is to get into a mind bending state, which we were not prepared for (look at the inquest).

On the subject of Goverment, “Lovely LABOUR” had well over 10 years since 9/11, & what did they do to help stop it, NOT A LOT at Home, so a goverment thats only been in Power for a less than a year is not to blame for another mess, left by them..

I agree Gerry. But this Government started with the attitude that they were going to right all the problems. What have they done? Mindlessly given in again and again to each and every insanity from the appalling EU and announced the savaging of the Armed Forces including providing the Royal Navy with 2 New Aircraft Carriers because it was cheaper to build them than cancel them but to deny them any aircraft(in other words build the Worlds largest 2 Paperweights because an Aircraft Carrier without Aircraft is a about as useful as a Paperweight). As Isaac Foot used to say in the 1930’s “The Conservative Party is the Personification of Evil on Earth”.

Re; “The Conservative Party is the Personification of Evil on Earth”.

I could think of several Dozen BAD people in this world that would qualify for this statement, that would leave the Conservative’s way, way down the bottom of the list.

You are right of course about the Carriers, but who signed a stupid bloody contract in the1st place, that allows the builder’s to get as much to Build it, as not too.

Anyway Chris, we’ll wait till it go’s on eBay & bid for it, might need that sort of mobility & protection the way the wourld is going………….!!

I heard the PM is planing on spending Christmas with his Eton School chum the PM of Thailand http://bit.ly/bD1TJ3 – ‘we are all in it together’.

the contracts were agreed by the labour government and the penalty clauses too,

and I would rather have 2 Aircraft carriers than even more of Glasgow claiming benefits and watching daytime telly

YOUR combo wish is granted…..

There is a chance that they might turn out to be fine ships. But an Aircraft Carrier without aircraft is still about as useful as a paperweight. Saw a warning in the week from the Seamen that if they do not get protection from the Pirates from Yemen and Somalia they might not be able to guarantee our oil and gas supplies. Yet the tories are cutting the Navy. The average Tory MP has the IQ of a baked bean. We need the Royal Navy. I have been fighting the tories since 1964(and I do not like the Labour or Lib-Dems either). Unlike most others who do not like them at least I stood for Parliament in 1992 and if I had not had health problems I would have stood again in 1997.

I hope they were not mental health problems lol seriously the oil companies make billions why dont they arm and protect their ships?

because its cheaper to pay the ransom and let the tax payer provide any protection

Armed Oil Tankers now theirs a thought. 100,000 tons or so of highly explosive oil with guns mounted on top. Might I suggest a couple of satelites over the affected area with the Royal Navy(whats left after the Tories cuts) on call to come to the rescue or even better to intercept the pirates boats when they set sail from their bases. But we need the Royal Navy just as much as we have ever done in history. Yet throughout history the Tories have been cutting it. They were cutting it 250 years ago when they sent Admiral Byng out with a small fleet to do a big fleets job and then excecuted him when he got hope having failed. They opposed the building of more Battleships before the First World War(The Liberals called for 8 more and then built 10-which served throughout the First World War and then the Second World War) and the Tories cut the Falklands Guardship which the Argentinians took as the invitation to invade which caused the Falklands War. The Tories cannot be trusted.

aye lets send a white elephant Aircraft carrier to the Arabian gulf so some tribesman can get lucky and stuff a powerboat loaded with explosives up its jacksie

The Oil and Gas Tankers need the protection NOW not in several years time. HMS Ark Royal is certainly not a “White Elephant”. The Old Time Royal Navy knew what to do with Pirates. They went in with guns blazing. The survivors were brought back in chains, tried and then Hung in chains at Execution Dock until their corpses rotted as a warning to the rest. A few current pirates getting the same treatment and the problem would be solved. If our Oil and Gas Supplies are interupted the result will be massive price rises and shortages and Power Cuts. We are already due Power Cuts in about 3 years as the Nuclear Power Stations close down with no new ones to replace them we could do without power cuts this winter which is expected to be far worse than winter 2009/10.

the pirates would love it if they sent an aircraft carrier , so much time and effort would be put into protecting the carrier the pirates could get on with their pirating in peace,

and if aircraft carriers were really the easy answer the Americans have a few spare

the old time Royal Navy was built and funded on piracy the English were the best in the business at piracy

Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) – Welsh Pirate

Black Bellamy (Samuel Bellamy) English

Edward Teach or Thatch, known as Blackbeard – English Pirate

Anne Bonney (Anne Cormac) – Famous Irish Female Pirate

Calico Jack (Jack Rackham) – English

Mary Read – Famous English Female Pirate

Yes you are correct that the British Isles certainly did supply many of the Pirates along with the French and Spanish but surely that was because the Europeans at the time were the best Seamen and built the best ships. Out East the Pirates were often Chinese or other Asiatic Origins. But the Royal Navy hunted down and killed or captured many of the Pirates no matter where they originated from. An Aircraft Carrier with a Frigate or Destroyer for escort with a Spy Satelite providing the information on the Pirates movements and it could be expected that fairly quickly the situation would be sorted. Or do we intend to wait until the Pirates have many mundreds of captive ships, many oil or gas tankers and the UK is suffering from massive price rises and power cuts. A responsible Government would act NOW. Get together with our Allies(even the Russians have had problems in the area) put together a Task Force and destroy the Pirates.

“A responsible Government would act NOW. Get together with our Allies(even the Russians have had problems in the area) put together a Task Force and destroy the Pirates.”

yeah no problem ! we cant afford to provide the men and means to slap down a few tribesmen on camels, never mind the ones paddling about the indian ocean

Do you think that we could afford it any more if anchored off the coast of Somalia were hundreds of oil and gas tankers being held by pirates for ransom??? There is a very significant differance between tribesmen hiding out in a difficult country like Afghanistan and their relations trying to hide out in the middle of the ocean with a spy satelite watching their every move. We are a trading nation that means that we need to be able to guarantee the freedom to move goods either our own going out or goods coming to us on the high seas. For hundreds of years that is exactly what the Royal Navy has done and it is just as important today as it was in Nelson’s day.

in Nelsons day the big trading companies, the equivilent of BP and Exon, had their private army and navy such as the East India co the Hudson Bay co, funded from profit not tax

as said before the Royal Navy for hundreds of years were just pirates with licence, check out, Letter of Marque and Reprisal and the Cruisers and Convoys Act of 1708

You have a very funny idea of History if you believe that Letters of Marque(that allowed a Privately owned Warship to operate as a Warship preying on the countries enemies(although often there were abuses but by the Private Owners and Operators of the Warships NOT by the Royal Navy). Also the Cruisers and Convoys Act of 1708 which allocated Royal Naval Warships to protect the Countries Merchant Ships in time of War in any way jusify your claims about the Royal Navy being in any way a Pirate Organisation. It is also very wrong to try to judge early centuries activities by 21st Century situations and ideals. They can only effectively be judged by the time concerned. However you judge the Royal Navy through History its actions have almost always been of the very highest standards.

“Royal Navy through History its actions have almost always been of the very highest standards.”

Press gangs??? keel haul, floggings,

Again you are trying to judge History by 21st Century standards. Press Gangs well how would you have manned the Royal Navy? Today we have conscription(1939-45 War) or National Service (1950’s) but they rely on knowing who lives where. In the 18th and 19th Century the Government was small and did not know who lives where so it sent out the Press Gangs but many others came from the Assises where Judges sentenced criminals to serve in the RN rather than go to prison(or be hung) Keel Hauling yes it was in the list of sentences but was rarely used. Indeed the majority of Officers probably never saw one in the whole of their careers. Flogging yes often used sometimes excessively but they were hard times a “Community Sentence” would not have worked(as they do not work today). In Civilian Life you could be hung for stealing a loaf of bread. When I was at College many years ago one of the guys who shared a flat with me used to boast that an ancestor of his was the last person to be publically hung for sheep stealing.

we do more interesting things with sheep up here

You might need to come into the 21st then & pop into a pub loo to use one of those machines on the wall……..

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