A radioactive substance found at Heathrow Airport could have been part of a sinister test in a new terror campaign against Iranian dissidents, it was revealed last night.
Counter-terror officers are following “every avenue” to discover how a small amount of Uranium was detected in routine security screenings at the airport.
It was found in a package among scrap metal that originated in Pakistan, arrived on a flight from Oman and was believed to have been sent to UK-basedIranians.
But it is possible the substance was sent to see if plotters could beat the UK’s security system - possibly by one of Tehran’s intelligence agencies.
Once they have found a way to bypass the UK system they would then be able to dispatch a more deadly package to dissidents calling for human rights reforms in Iran.
A former western intelligence officer told the Mirror: “Iran has been active in trying to control and strike fear among the Iranian community in the UK so perhaps there was a message in this substance being found.
“Not only that but it is possible that this was part of some kind of test to see if there is a weakness in the UK security system that could be exploited for another more effective operation.
‘If it turns out that this is the case then the threat is not over.’
Giving evidence at the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee on Wednesday, Commander Richard Smith, head of the Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism command, said: “It’s understandable that a report like this would attract considerable attention and potentially concern.
“The circumstances are that in the course of routine scanning at London Heathrow an element of cargo was identified that was emitting a radio active signal.
“There are procedures in place to deal with these sorts of incidents and those procedures were enacted.“
As part of that the counter-terrorism commands were contacted and have opened an investigation into the surrounding circumstances.”
He said that the primary concern was whether there was a public health risk, and there was not.
