Police question seven after security alerts at airports

Seven people were questioned by police yesterday after they were arrested under anti-terror laws at three of Britain's airports.

Four men were detained near Heathrow airport and two at Leeds-Bradford hours after the arrest of a man with a live grenade at Gatwick airport on Thursday. With fears of a terror attack running high, security alerts led to the evacuation of Heathrow's terminal 2 and the closure of the approach road to Stansted.

The man found with the grenade, aged 37, who had travelled on a British Airways flight to London from Bogota, Colombia, was being held at Paddington Green police station in west London. He was using a Venezuelan passport and police are almost certain he is from that country.

Fears over security at airports outside the London area increased when the two men arrested at Leeds-Bradford were found acting suspiciously close to the perimeter fence at 7pm on Thursday evening. Yesterday, officers from West Yorkshire Police interviewed the men ­ aged 25 and 26 ­ and examined a Vauxhall Cavalier car parked close to where they were arrested.

A huge security cordon has been set up around Heathrow. Thames Valley Police, which has set up roadblocks in the area to stop and check vehicles, arrested the four people on Thursday at Langley in Berkshire. Police said the arrests were "precautionary" and said they were not the result of intelligence relating to a specific plot against the airport. The men were handed over to the Immigration Service without charge last night.

In a separate incident near Heathrow on Thursday, two men were detained in Hounslow. Police later released the men, although one was handed over to immigration officers.

Air travellers suffered another day of scares and delays yesterday. At Stansted, the road outside the terminal building was closed for five hours as a security measure. The closure of the road, which was guarded by armed police, was understood to be linkedto the departure and arrival of flights operated by the Israeli airline El Al, which are considered potential terrorist targets.

Part of terminal 2 at Heathrow was evacuated while a suspect bag was investigated. The incident turned out to be a false alarm.

Many passengers emerged from the airport to find that London Underground's Piccadilly line had been suspended because of a fire alert.

At Gatwick, about 150 passengers had to sleep the night in terminal buildings because of delays resulting from the grenade scare on Thursday. Most passengers said they were determined to continue their travels, although Trevor Matthias, 19, a musician from Chicago, admitted: "I was really scared. I didn't want to fly with all this terrorist stuff going on."

At Gatwick, Matt and Alison Boreham, from Aylsham, Norfolk, were waiting for a flight to Tenerife with their two children. "It is a worry but I certainly wouldn't let it stop us travelling," said Mr Boreham, 34. "I think it does make a difference having lived through the IRA. I do not remember a time when somebody was not trying to blow something up."