Terrorism charge for man with grenade

Scotland Yard charged a man with three offences under the Terrorism Act last night after a live hand grenade was allegedly found in his luggage at Gatwick Airport.

Hasil Mohammed Rahaham-Alan, 37, a Venezuelan, was stopped by Customs officers at Gatwick's North Terminal on Thursday after arriving on a British Airways plane he boarded in Caracas.

He was charged with possession of an article for the purpose of committing terrorism, possession of an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or damage property and carrying a dangerous article on a British-registered aircraft. He will appear at Bow Street Magistrates Court in London today.

He had been on board the flight, BA 2048, which was carrying 125 passengers from Bogota in Columbia. Passengers at Gatwick were immediately evacuated from the North Terminal and outbound flights were suspended.

Britain has been on a heightened state of alert, with increased security at several airports across the country, amid fears that terrorists are planning an attack.

More than 400 troops were stationed at Heathrow last week and police have increased the number of officers at several sites around London.

A total of nine suspects were arrested under anti-terrorism laws near airports in England last week and Terminal Two at Heathrow was evacuated after a security alert on Friday. Eight of the suspects were released without charge, and five were then taken into custody by immigration officials.

Meanwhile, the head of the Metropolitan Police yesterday warned that Osama bin Laden's al-Qa'ida network has a "substantial presence" in Britain.

Sir John Stevens said it was difficult to know how many al-Qa'ida cells were active in Britain. "We do know there is a substantial presence, and we are taking action," he said in a BBC interview.

Mr Stevens confirmed that security officials fear terrorists will try to fire at aircraft with ground-to-air missiles.