Security alert closes Heathrow T4
Updated on 03 July 2007
Thousands of travellers have suffered a stressful day with a series of security alerts causing disruption across the transport network.
Heathrow Airport's Terminal Four was evacuated after police received reports of a suspect package.
Officials at the airport confirmed a suspect bag had been found and said all passengers were being searched.
Passenger have now being let back into Terminal Four but delays and disruption to their journeys are inevitable.
A BAA spokeswoman said: "A suspect bag was identified shortly before midday in Terminal 4.
"As an extra precaution, it was decided to perform secondary searches on all departing passengers at the aircraft gate."
She continued: "In order to facilitate the secondary search process, a decision was made by the police to partially evacuate the departure lounge and re-screen the passengers.
"This process will cause delays to some flights departing from Terminal 4.
"Contingency plans have now been activated to ensure that we are able to effectively manage the increase in resource that this secondary search requires."
The UK's security threat level has been set at "critical" since two car bombs were found in central London on Friday and members of a suspected al-Qaeda cell attacked an airport in Scotland on Saturday.
Earlier, a controlled explosion was carried out on suspicious objects in Hammersmith, west London, bringing chaos to Tube and bus services in the area.
Many made roads in west London were gridlocked throught the morning rush hour.
Officers were also called to investigate a suspicious vehicle in the city's financial district which led to the temporary closure of the Circle Line on the London Underground.
Elsewhere, police carried out a controlled explosion on a car at a Mosque in Glasgow. They confirmed that the vehicle is linked to the UK-wide bomb plot investigation which has now stretched as far as Australia.
Police stressed the car had not contained explosives and had been destroyed as a precaution.
Police have banned cars and other vehicles from directly approaching airports in the UK and security measures have been stepped up across the country.
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