Counter terrorism police have been called in to help investigate a routine matter after Heathrow Airport was shut following a fire at an electricity substation. The Metropolitan Police’s counter-terrorism command has detectives helping, although the authorities have said that there is no sign of a criminal element at this stage.
The fire is not believed to have been started deliberately, but investigations are ongoing. The CTS are involved due to the fact that they are specialists in their field and have the top security clearance that would be required to look into the cause of the blaze. The intelligence services are also keeping a very close eye on the situation.
Heathrow is a major UK airport and is considered to be a critical part of the national infrastructure, and has been identified as a potential target for terrorism, sabotage or state backed espionage. In recent years, the threat from foreign interference has increased, so any event at a important node such as Heathrow cannot be treated as routine.
However, the authorities have asked people not to panic, explaining that the involvement of counter-terrorism officers is a normal practice and not necessarily because of a real threat. Heathrow’s shutdown has led to a huge number of delays and cancellations, affecting thousands of passengers. The emergency services are currently working to return the airport to full functioning as soon as possible.
The airport has promised that safety is its highest priority and that more information will be available as the investigation goes on. For the moment, representatives are still determining if there are any other security concerns that have been created by the fire.
