Heathrow under guard

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33426, 7 January 1974, Page 11

Heathrow under guard

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright) LONDON, January 6. Heathrow Airport will be surrounded by a military cordon again today in a huge security exercise apparently designed to show terrorists that the airport is not an easy target. In the biggest peacetime security action staged at the [[airport, hundreds of troops in tanks and armoured cars [ moved in at dawn on SaturJday to clamp the area in [[what a security officer described as a “ring of steel.” Some reports said the ex-

jercise came after a tip that terrorists armed with Rus-: Isian ground-to-air missiles were planning an attack on I the airport. But police insisted that it, i was only designed to test ' procedures.'lt would continue ■ for several days. I The tanks were positioned i. at strategic points round the seven mile perimeter of the ' airfield, and infantry patrolled the roads, armed with sub-machine-guns. - The guard was intended as - a warning to would-be sabos teurs against planning an at- > tack on an Israeli or Ameri- • can plane, airport staff said. ’ Security police throughout - Europe were warned last week about nine Palestinian - guerrillas who were said to

be armed with Sam missiles capable of bringing down an i aircraft. Deputy Assistant-Commis-sioner John Gerrard, in charge of tjre police in the exercise, said: “In the light of ' current events it was an appropriate time to test our plans and show our pre- ' paredness.” Although there was no m- , dication that any missiles had been smuggled into Britain, the exercise included a [ watch in meadows beneath . the flight path, and a search . of vehicles. The troops were witht drawn at dusk, and came t back at dawn. The police their vigil 51 through the night.