Police and security officers in Las Vegas have defended themselves against accusations by the US media that they ignored the threat of a terrorist attack on the city.

According to the Associated Press (AP), local FBI officers and the Las Vegas mayor’s office refused to acknowledge the existence of videotapes – filmed outside casinos in the city – found during raids of Al-Qaeda members’ homes in Detroit and Madrid, Spain during 2002.

The New York Times has also reported that a memorandum from two federal prosecutors showed officials played down or ignored evidence that terrorists had videotaped at least three casinos on Las Vegas strip.

The newspaper also alleged that the mayor of Las Vegas, Oscar Goodman, chose to ignore the tapes and was more concerned that tourism would suffer if the news of the tapes reached the public.

Goodman strenuously denies the charge, saying that he was never told of the tapes and never saw them and that the FBI’s message was consistently that there was no threat to Las Vegas.

In the UK, The Times newspaper reported that security officials at casino group MGM Mirage, which operates two of the resorts allegedly seen on the tapes, apparently took “suitable measures” after viewing them.