Police are probing whether the New IRA could have sent the improvised parcel bombs which caused a terror alarm at three of London’s major transport hubs yesterday.
Irish security chiefs and counter terror police from Scotland Yard are examining links to dissident republicans after explosive devices were sent to Heathrow Airport, London City Airport and Waterloo station in A4 envelopes with Irish stamps.
The three ‘linked’ packages which were discovered within hours of each other, prompted a terror scare, as one of them burst into flames at Heathrow when an airport worker tried to open it, and the others had to be defused by bomb squad officers.
Last night Ireland’s Gardai police force confirmed they were assisting the Metropolitan Police with their inquiries, as it was claimed the packages capable of starting small fires – had been sent from Dublin.
Security sources said there were ‘multiple possibilities’ for the motive behind the attack, including ‘mental health, general protest, grudges’ and it was too early to establish a clear motive.
But they are investigating whether the New IRA – the most active and organised dissident group, thought to be behind a Londonderry car bomb in January – could have played a role amid a surge in dissident activity.
The last dissident plot against the British mainland was in 2014 when explosives were sent to Army recruitment officers in cities including Oxford and Brighton.
On Tuesday night specialist officers were boarding trains and guarding station concourses to reassure passengers travelling home on trains and the London Underground, although the police cordon at Waterloo has been lifted.
The first package went off at the offices of Heathrow Airport bosses in a building called The Compass Centre, to the north of the runway, shortly before 10am on Tuesday.
Nobody was hurt in the small fire which ensued but the building was evacuated and anti-terror experts took over and made the device safe.
Shortly after 11.30am, a similar device was found in the post room at Waterloo Station. This package was not opened and police experts have made it safe.
The third package was received around midday at City Aviation House in the Royal Docks. Again staff were evacuated and the package was not opened before bomb squad experts took over.
A spokesman for London City Airport said Aviation House was a staff-only building about three minutes from the terminal, and no flights or passengers were affected.
Docklands Light Railway trains to City Airport were briefly suspended but resumed later on Tuesday.
In a statement released yesterday, a Met spokesman said: ‘The packages all A4-sized white postal bags containing yellow Jiffy bags have been assessed by specialist officers to be small improvised explosive devices.
‘These devices, at this early stage of the investigation, appear capable of igniting an initially small fire when opened.’
British Transport Police officers had to rush away from a Security Expo at the Olympia exhibition centre in Kensington when they received the alert, Sky News reported.
Security expert Will Geddes claimed the incidents at Heathrow, London City and London Waterloo were to be expected given the current threat level.
Where were the three explosive packages sent?
The three packages sent to London transport hubs in what police believe is a ‘linked’ series of events all arrived at administrative centres.
As a result there was little impact on rail or air passengers as flights continued to take off from City and Heathrow and South Western Railway services ran as normal from Waterloo.
At Heathrow, the package arrived at The Compass Centre, an office building on the perimeter of the airport site.
At City Airport, police responded to reports of the suspicious package at City Aviation House, another administrative building.
And at Waterloo, the UK’s busiest station, the package was received in a post room.
He said: We’ve not had a significant incident for quite some time. To be honest, we were anticipating something happening. Transportation hubs have always been on the agenda for any kind of terrorist group.