Travellers cancel flights as Blunkett calls for calm

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, struggled to reassure the public yesterday that Britain's skies were safe, as hundreds of passengers cancelled their flights.

Mr Blunkett told a Commons debate on terror that the Government was keen to avoid frightening people or "causing the kind of economic and social damage that does the work of terrorists for them".

But there was evidence that passengers were voting with their feet by avoiding flights amid the heightened confusion. One man telephoned BBC Radio Five Live and said he had cancelled his honeymoon because he and his wife were terrified of an attack.

At the same time, the Foreign Office put out a warning to travellers to Morocco stating there was an increased threat of terrorism in the country.

Having been urged by the Tories to deliver an update to Parliament on the security alert, a clearly irritated Home Secretary said there was now enhanced protection in London based on intelligence information. But in a rare moment of levity, he said he didn't "want to do a Gummer" – a reference to John Gummer, the former Tory agriculture minister who fed his daughter a hamburger during the BSE crisis – as he outlined his son's travel plans.

"One of my sons flew out from Manchester airport this morning and I would assure everyone it is safe to use our airports and they should not be fearful to do so, precisely because the measures have been put in place and the security provided," he said.

Oliver Letwin, the shadow Home Secretary, was scathing about remarks on Wednesday by John Reid, the Labour Party chairman, that the terror threat was of the nature of 11 September. "It is far better to set the precedent of measured and comprehensive statements in the House than to allow a running public commentary to be provided by confused and conflicting signals given by other ministers on the airwaves," he said.

Mr Letwin also reiterated his call for a new cabinet post of Minister for Homeland Security to be appointed to co-ordinate Whitehall's efforts.

Mr Blunkett rejected the accusation and suggested that summoning ministers to the Commons would endanger the public by risking the release of sensitive information or triggering panic. "If every time we take measures to protect the public and engage our security, police and armed services, there are calls for debates in the House, then we are going to damage rather than enhance the chances of catching those who threaten our lives and would put our nation in danger," he said. "A cabinet minister, coming day by day to the dispatch box to answer for the operational activity of our security, would be both unnecessary ... [and] dangerous."

Downing Street and the Home Office denied Mr Blunkett had been overruled by Mr Blair in the decision to send troops to Heathrow. Armoured vehicles were no longer on view at the airport yesterday but security was still high, with many soldiers and extra police on duty.

The Prime Minister's official spokesman said the Government was not aware of a significant fall in air travel but advised that the public should not be deterred from airports.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the UK had judged that the threat from international terrorism in Morocco "including to British nationals and British interests, has increased". Its advice stated: "You should therefore maintain a high level of vigilance in public places and exercise good security practice." The assessment that most visits to Morocco were trouble-free remained in force, it said. A Foreign Office spokeswoman said she could not comment on the nature of the information that had led to the change in advice.