London denies hunting bomb suspect in Thailand

LONDON, July 11 (Reuters) A London police spokeswoman denied today that detectives were seeking any suspects in Thailand in connection with failed car bombings in London and Glasgow last month.

A senior Thai police officer earlier told Reuters that a Briton wanted in connection with the plots had been found by police in Thailand and sent back to Britain.

Two car bombs primed to explode in London's bustling theatre and nightclub district were discovered early on June 29, and the next day a car burst into flames when the driver crashed it into the terminal building at Glasgow airport in Scotland. Eight suspects have been detained by police in Britain and Australia.

A spokeswoman for London's Metropolitan Police, whose counter-terrorism unit is leading the investigation into the failed bombings, said she had no knowledge of any arrest in Thailand.

If anyone has been detained and deported from Thailand, it was not linked to any British counter-terrorism investigation, she said.

''It's quite possible that someone was arrested in Thailand and deported in connection with an inquiry here, but it's certainly not a terrorism-related inquiry,'' she said.

''I have just spoken to the officer in charge of the (failed bombings) inquiry and he said he has no knowledge of it. We weren't looking for anyone in Thailand.'' The Thai officer, who declined to be identified, said that a 30-year-old Arab businessman with a British passport had arrived in Bangkok on June 16 and was deported to Britain on Monday.

''We were asked by British authorities to look for this man suspected of being involved in the London attack. We found him, brought him to the airport and put him on the plane to England,'' the officer said.

REUTERS GT DS1400