Troops withdrawn from Heathrow airport as missile fear subsides

Troops and armoured vehicles sent to Heathrow airport last week amid fears of a terrorist attack to coincide with the Muslim festival of Eid have been withdrawn, Scotland Yard said yesterday.

Armed reconnaissance vehicles and 450 troops patrolled the four terminals and the perimeter of the complex following intelligence reports of a threat to low-flying aircraft from missiles possibly smuggled into Britain.

Despite the withdrawal of the soldiers, Scotland Yard, which was coordinating the operation with security services and the Ministry of Defence, did not rule out their return.

A spokesman said: "The security arrangements remain under review and we will continue to take whatever action we believe is necessary to protect the public." Hundreds of police officers, many of them armed, were also drafted in along with a Nimrod reconnaissance aircraft. Fears centred on an attack from ground-launched missiles fired from beyond the perimeter.

Police stopped vehicles under the flight path and soldiers patrolled nearby Windsor and searched woods.

The alert also involved high-profile targets in the capital and security was tightened at other British airports. Six suspects were arrested near Heathrow last week. Four men were held under anti-terrorism legislation last Thursday at Langley, Berkshire, about four miles from Heathrow. They were released into the custody of the immigration services.

Two were arrested in the Hounslow area, also near Heathrow. One man was released and one handed over to the immigration service.

Intelligence experts believe al-Qa'ida has been involved in previous attempts to bring down passenger aircraft. They think operatives from the terror network fired two missiles at an aircraft carrying Israeli tourists in Mombasa, Kenya, in November 2002.

Downing Street sanctioned the use of troops at Heathrow but said the decision to deploy them had been left to the police and the MoD after complaints that the security patrols exaggerated the terrorist threat for political purposes. The Conservative leader, Iain Duncan Smith, accused the Government of sending out mixed messages.

But David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, said he was not prepared to give a "public commentary" on the threat after being forced to make a statement in the Commons. Ministers considered closing the airport but decided against it, feeling it would represent a victory for terrorists, he said.