TERROR ALERT _ UK AIRPORTS in CHAOS

Crumpet

'Airlines terror plot' disrupted

All airports have been put under the restrictions alt

Reid statement

A terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US has been disrupted, Scotland Yard has said.

It is thought the plan was to detonate explosive devices smuggled on to as many as 10 aircraft in hand luggage.

Police were searching addresses after a total of 21 people were being kept in custody after 25 arrests in the London area and West Midlands.

High security is causing delays at all UK airports, and MI5 has raised the threat level to critical.

According to MI5's website, critical threat level - the highest - means "an attack is expected imminently and indicates an extremely high level of threat to the UK".

Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Paul Stephenson said the alleged plotters had intended "mass murder on an unimaginable scale".

HAVE YOUR SAY alt

This disruption is one of the short term limits on freedom that are needed alt

Tony Shield, Chorley alt

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Home Secretary John Reid confirmed that there had apparently been a plot "to bring down a number of aircraft through mid-flight explosions causing a considerable loss of life".

According to BBC sources the "principal characters" suspected of being involved in the plot were British-born. Arrests were made in High Wycombe, London and Birmingham.

In other major developments:

The US Department of Homeland Security increased the threat level applied to US-bound commercial flights originating in the UK

The Home Office confirmed there had been three meetings overnight and on Thursday morning of the Cabinet's emergency committee, Cobra, chaired by Mr Reid, to discuss the terror alert

A spokesman for Number 10 said Tony Blair had briefed US President George Bush on the situation during the night

All passengers were banned from taking hand luggage onto flights, while the government warned of delays.

What a nightmare - passengers at all UK airports are being asked to go home if their flight is not an emergency, after 18 men arrested in the early hours plotting a major attack on planes bound for the States today from London aiports. Now no hand luggage is permitted - no handbags, food, drinks, books ,papers etc and the delays.

Britain now on high terror alert - lets hope it all comes to nothing and the terrorists have been completely thwarted in this attack.

chuckie77

This is pretty bad isnt it, although some are going around saying its just another scare tactic by govts to stay in power... The cancellation of many flights and disruption thats causing would hopefully suggest otherwise.

katiekitten

OMG. This is terrible...

Now no hand luggage is permitted - no handbags, food, drinks, books ,papers

Ive got a 9 hour flight home on Sunday. How'm I gonna fill 9 hours without hand luggage? Im gonna have to hide my MP3 in my knickers.

('War and Peace' will have to go in my cleavage)

Crumpet

Oh god KatieKitten! Are you flying from US to here? Not via Heathrow as it has been completely closed to all incoming flights from anywhere in the world although probably by Sunday. Keep checking with your airline they are saying. You wont get away with sneaking anything on to the plane young lady. Women are only allowed to take sanitary products in a clear plastic bag. The other items allowed are passport, wallet, keys, and presrciption medicine and all of these must be in a clear plastic bag. No handbags - no drawing books to keep kids occupied - pretty dire, but compared to teh mass loss ofl ife that would have happened a small inconvenience.

I just heard that at Gatwick mothers with small babies are not allowed to take baby food to feed the babies on laong haul fights unless they taste it in front of the security!! MAdness!!

US has gone on highest terror alert too i see now.

katiekitten

Im flying from Miami to Heathrow (!!!) on Sunday night.

Im guessing most of it will be cleared by then. But im in no hurry. At least I can check online and dont actually need to go and get caught up in a 3 mile queue for a security officer to open my tampax packets and ask if I intend to use them myself...

fullofdoubtnow

I 've just been reading this, thank goodness it seems to have been thwarted.

Katie, I do hope you get back ok, it's bound to be irritating, to say the least, not to be allowed hand luggage, but the potential alternative is far worse.

Linda

Crumpet

'War and Peace' will have to go in my cleavage)

You have the condensed war and peace then do ya?

(PS here's an idea - maybe you can say that you are an environmentalist and that war an peace is your sanitary product! Oh please katie - do it! If they confiscate it - good riddance!

Crumpet

If I was a terrorist organising this mass massacre then today would just be a dupe and tomorrow would be the real day - while everyone else was looking somewhere else - ie at the airports.

We've had 9/11 and 7/7 and tomorrow is 8/11 - I would say they'd target someowhere no one was really looking - like main buildings in London or something... I'm usually completely wrong though so lets hope it is all over for now at least.

Surely the terrorists are sneakier than me though?

avengers

I saw it on the news this morning. Terrible

TERROR ALERT _ UK AIRPORTS in CHAOS

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