"Rightly or wrongly held opinion it may be, but I dont recollect any Islamic terror attacks in the UK prior to the Iraq invasion? "
possibly because the heightened security due to the IRAs activities made it difficult for ANYONE to acquire arms / bombs in the UK. The Islamic "spectaculars" in the UK have all been post the IRA "ceasefire" and resultant relaxation in security
and think on these
PAM AM 103 - 21 December 1988
BOAC 775 - 9 September 1970 (not IN Britain, but a British aircraft)
Policewoman Yvonne Fletcher murdered 17 April 1984
and on a more general basis, think of the numerous attacks by Muslim groups in Europe in the 1970's. Except they were called "Arabs" in those days, not Islamics.