Some 3,000 workers at Heathrow airport have reportedly been ordered to undergo immediate security checks after it emerged that they had not been given security clearance by police.
According to the Daily Mail, Scotland Yard has ordered the checks on thousands of workers building Terminal 5, while all vehicles parked around the massive site will be checked for explosives.
The newspaper reports that the news that nobody working on the site had undergone checks “had set alarm bells ringing”.
The revelation was apparently made in an email to from David Olley, head of construction at Terminal 5, to the trade magazine Construction News.
The mail reportedly read: “Police are advising of increased sensitivities following events in Northern Ireland over the past few weeks. There is no specific threat to either the airport or T5 in particular; however, all employees are asked to be extra vigilant.
“We will also be providing details of all employees to the Metropolitan Police for the purpose of counter-terrorist checks only. This is for the purposes of national security.”
A BAA spokesman is quoted as saying: “While there is no specific threat to the airport, we have reminded airport workers to be vigilant. Any additional measures will not adversely affect the day-to-day arrangements for construction workers.”
Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad Ltd
