Armed police race to Heathrow security alert

Armed police raced to a major security alert at the UK’s biggest airport today when a man sprinted on to a runway at Heathrow.

The intruder, who was subsequently arrested, was clutching a bag and is thought to have scaled a perimeter fence by the west London airport’s northern runway.

The breach comes a day before the Queen is due to open the new £4.3bn Terminal 5 building and was the second serious security breach at Heathrow within 18 days.

The incident at about 2pm caused flight delays and some cancellations.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was satisfied “everything is now being done to ensure security at Heathrow is intact”.

Heathrow workforce sources said the man ran towards a plane but dumped the bag and was quickly tackled by the armed police.

A number of police vehicles and a fire engine had sped on to the runway after the intruder was spotted. Officers seized the man, holding him face down on the grass at gunpoint before leading him away.

There was a controlled explosion on the bag but police said no explosives were found.

At one stage it was thought that the man might have been protesting ahead of tomorrow’s official opening.

But it was later believed that the intruder was not a demonstrator. Scotland Yard said anti-terrorist officers were aware of the incident but it was being dealt with by local police at the airport.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: “A man was arrested and is currently in custody. A bag has been recovered.”

A Heathrow airport spokeswoman said: “Airport police swiftly apprehended a man near the northern runway of Heathrow this afternoon. The police arrested a man at about 2pm within the airport perimeter.”

The northern runway was partially closed but later reopened. British Airways was among airlines who suffered flight delays and cancellations.

Mr Brown, speaking after arriving at an EU summit in Brussels, said: “I think the important thing about the Heathrow incident is that the person was detained, that all the security precautions went quickly into action, that he’s now being interviewed and that all possible steps were taken so that when this incident happened the arrest took place.

“And I’m satisfied everything is now being done to ensure security at Heathrow is intact.

“We are determined to protect all passengers and all staff who go through Heathrow and every other airport in the country.”

The airport is understood to have been testing security today ahead of the official opening of Terminal 5. The state-of-the-art building is a major landmark in the airport’s expansion.

The incident is the second time in recent weeks that Heathrow security has been breached. The incident is bound to lead to even tighter security there, aviation experts said.

Greenpeace protesters walked on to the runway late last month and climbed on to a Boeing 777, unfurling a banner in protest against the airport’s expansion.

Two days later members of the Plane Stupid group breached security at Westminster, climbing on to the roof and unfurling banners. Both groups denied involvement in today’s incident.

Buckingham Palace said tomorrow’s visit by the Queen, who will be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, would go ahead as planned.

Airport security regulations are laid down by the Department for Transport (DfT) with security being dealt with by a group within the department called Transec.

A DfT spokesman said: “The department is in contact with BAA and if it appears that there were any deficiencies in security then prompt action will be taken.”