It’s only been hours since Heathrow Airport announced it could shut down for a full day after a big fire at a close-by power station – but speculation across the blaze’s cause is running rampant.
One potential reason speculated by experts this morning is Russian interference. Comparisons have been drawn to past instances of alleged sabotage.
Last yr, a DHL cargo plane crashed in Lithuania just months after Russian-backed saboteurs were believed to be behind a firebomb which detonated at a DHL warehouse in Birmingham – dubbed a ‘test run’ by Russian spies.
Follow our live blog for the most recent updates on the Heathrow Airport closure
Thomas Haldenwang, the previous president of Germany’s federal domestic intelligence agency, previously warned Politico: ‘We’ve got been observing aggressive actions by the Russian intelligence services for a while now.
‘Russia is using all the toolbox, from influencing political discussions to cyber attacks on critical infrastructure to sabotage on a major scale.’
Security expert Will Geddes told Metro that Russia might be involved: ‘Heathrow is the busiest airport on the planet. Secondly, it is an element of our critical national infrastructure as a facility for international travel, business and finance. Yes, there are other major airports – but this one is especially vital.
‘People forget that things like substations are critical because although they might have generators, the issue is that can only keep what we call the life support elements going – air traffic control, security border,’ he said.
Investigators are still looking into what sparked the fireplace, with counter-terrorism detectives currently on the scene.
Mr Geddes adds: ‘Security experts should stick their necks out during things like this – there’s every probability they might be cut off, but we have now to contemplate all the choices and if there’s viability to Russia potentially attacking a substation, we cannot discount that.
‘We’d get it improper, but when we don’t lead towards and investigate each avenue of possibility and never discount anything since it’s too ‘inflammatory’, we aren’t doing our jobs,’ he added.
‘The largest query for me is – who was managing and risk assessing that site where the failure has happened?’
Our reporter’s evaluation
Metro reporter Sarah Hooper provides insight on rumours of Russian sabotage:
It’s far too early to position blame on any party for the fireplace which prompted Heathrow to shut down early this morning.
Nevertheless it’s not out of the query that foreign actors could have played a job – especially given the countless warnings from UK government ministers in years past.
As Mr Geddes explained, it could be irresponsible to not investigate every avenue of possibility for the reason behind the fireplace – especially given past instances of explosive parcels in UK warehouses, which were dubbed a ‘test run’ by Russian operatives.
MI5 Chief Ken McCallum previously said Russian intelligence operatives were on ‘a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets: we’ve seen arson, sabotage and more‘.
I’ve reached out to a few trusted experts in the sector of Russian affairs and security – all of whom said it’s too early to invest – but one mentioned the considered Russian interference had already crossed his mind.
For now, we’ll wait and see what the counterterrorism detectives discover.
In 2023, Oliver Dowden previously warned the federal government about threats facing critical national infrastructure across the UK from state-aligned adversaries.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) issued an ‘official threat notice’ to those that operate critical national infrastructure.
The NCSC said there was an ’emerging risk posed by state-aligned adversaries’ consequently of the Russia-Ukraine war, and organisations needed to ‘act now’ to guard themselves against attacks.
Mr Dowden said these Russian-aligned groups had a motive to ‘disrupt or destroy’ UK infrastructure.
Counterterrorism police have been deployed as a precaution moderately than an indication of foul play, it is known.
London Fire Brigade’s Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Smith said during a briefing: ‘As you’ll appreciate, I won’t have the opportunity to comment on the investigations of the Metropolitan Police.
‘All I can say is the Metropolitan Police are investigating the reason behind this fireplace, ably assisted by our fire investigation officers, and we’ll, in fact, assist with that process.’
In 2019, the Norwegian defence ministry brought up worries of Russian interference with flight GPS in a bilateral meeting with Russian officials.
The electronic attacks have also been allegedly deployed within the Donbas, eastern Ukraine, dating back to 2015.
In 2020, the Swedish Defence Research Agency wrote of how Russian navigational systems could attack vulnerable navigational systems. The warnings were seemingly ignored.
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: M25 shuts for final weekend as drivers warned to travel ‘provided that vital’
MORE: Map shows which roads are closed around Heathrow Airport after fire
MORE: Heathrow Airport closed: What are your rights in case your flight has been cancelled?
