Man held in Gatwick grenade alert

Police have cleared the north terminal of Gatwick Airport and arrested a man under anti-terrorism legislation after the discovery of a live hand grenade, Home Secretary David Blunkett said.
All flights from the terminal have been suspended while the security alert continues.

Sussex Police would not give any further details or say whether it had anything to do with the present state of alert in the UK that has seen troops deployed at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Two men were also arrested near Heathrow airport under the Terrorism Act on Thursday afternoon.

Their detention in Hounslow near the airport’s perimeter fence after the men’s car was stopped, was a “precautionary measure”, police have said.

The men were taken to Paddington Green police station in central London for questioning, a Scotland Yard spokesman said.

A Gatwick spokesman said: “Inbound flights are not affected but there is some disruption to outbound flights.”

It is understood South Terminal flights are currently unaffected.

The airport is on heightened alert along with other UK airports this week, with extra armed police drafted in to patrol the perimeter and terminal buildings, and check cars in the surrounding area.

‘Holidays are safe’

There are 450 troops and about 1,700 extra police officers patrolling at Heathrow – guarding key sites and stopping vehicles under flight paths within about eight miles of the airport.

The Ministry of Defence has confirmed a single Nimrod maritime surveillance aircraft has been flying over London, “to aid communications on the ground”.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Blunkett said the terror threat at Heathrow is serious but the public should be “alert, not alarmed”.

The home secretary was speaking in the House of Commons after bowing to pressure from opposition parties to deliver a statement on the security operation at the world’s busiest airport.

He said he made it clear last year that there would be heightened security at airports and other key transport hubs and that there were terrorists intent on taking British lives and damaging the UK.

He said that sometimes security would have to be further increased to match a particular threat.

‘No airport closure’

But he ruled out a “running commentary” on security in order not to undermine the work of the police and security services.

He also echoed a point made by a Downing Street spokesman that there was no need for the public to cancel holidays.

Mr Letwin said he backed the security measures but was concerned at what he said were “confused and conflicting signals”.

Ministers have angrily denied the exercise was a publicity stunt ahead of a war against Iraq.
The home secretary was speaking in the House of Commons after bowing to pressure from opposition parties to deliver a statement on the security operation at the world’s busiest airport.

He said he made it clear last year that there would be heightened security at airports and other key transport hubs and that there were terrorists intent on taking British lives and damaging the UK.

He said that sometimes security would have to be further increased to match a particular threat.

‘No airport closure’

But he ruled out a “running commentary” on security in order not to undermine the work of the police and security services.

He also echoed a point made by a Downing Street spokesman that there was no need for the public to cancel holidays.

Mr Letwin said he backed the security measures but was concerned at what he said were “confused and conflicting signals”.

Ministers have angrily denied the exercise was a publicity stunt ahead of a war against Iraq.
The home secretary was speaking in the House of Commons after bowing to pressure from opposition parties to deliver a statement on the security operation at the world’s busiest airport.

He said he made it clear last year that there would be heightened security at airports and other key transport hubs and that there were terrorists intent on taking British lives and damaging the UK.

He said that sometimes security would have to be further increased to match a particular threat.

‘No airport closure’

But he ruled out a “running commentary” on security in order not to undermine the work of the police and security services.

He also echoed a point made by a Downing Street spokesman that there was no need for the public to cancel holidays.

Mr Letwin said he backed the security measures but was concerned at what he said were “confused and conflicting signals”.

Ministers have angrily denied the exercise was a publicity stunt ahead of a war against Iraq.
Labour chairman John Reid at one point on Wednesday appeared to compare the threat to the 11 September attacks, before saying his remarks had been “misinterpreted”.

The government and police said the ongoing security alert was linked to fears that al-Qaeda could use the end of the Muslim festival of Eid, which runs until Saturday, as a trigger for an attack on London.

Mr Blunkett said he had considered, but decided against closing the world’s busiest international airport.

Extra police have also been drafted in at other airports, including Manchester, Stansted, Leeds Bradford International and Jersey.