A car which had been set aflame was last night driven into Glasgow Airport's main terminal. As a result, the UK level of terror alert has been set to 'Critical', while five people have so far been arrested in the aftermath of the attack. As an immediate result of this attack, a complete evacuation of Glasgow Airport took place, and all flights were cancelled, although it is understood that things are now slowly getting back to normal.

Spectators at Glasgow Airport detailed how the car, a Jeep Cherokee, accelerated towards the terminal with flames apparent around its chassis. Adding to this, they described spotting two men of Asian ethnicity in the Cherokee, of which one was ablaze. One eyewitness, who has spoken to the media, covered the incident thus: "I heard the sound of a car's wheels spinning and smoke coming out."

He continued: "I saw a Jeep Cherokee apparently as if it was trying to get right through the doors into the terminal building. There were flames coming out from underneath then some men appeared from in amongst the flames. The police ran over and the people started fighting with the police. I then heard what sounded like an explosion."

A number of prominent political figures have commented regarding the attack, and highlighted its possible ramifications. Chief of these is Britain's newly elected Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. Mr Brown said that the UK can now been seen as dealing with a sustained threat, but one that we would not give in to.

Speaking on the BBC Programme Sunday AM, Mr Brown stated that it was "clear that we are dealing, in general terms, with people who are associated with al-Qaeda." He continued: "It's obvious that we have a group of people - not just in this country, but round the world - who're prepared at any time to inflict what they want to be maximum damage on civilians, irrespective of the religion of these people who are killed or maimed are to be."

Mr Brown highlighted the "magnificent" contribution made by security services and the police in connection with the attack, additionally focusing on the role paid by the British public in their vigilance. He reaffirmed, however, that continued vigilance is still paramount to combat the "long term and sustained threat." Regarding this, Mr Brown detailed how: "We have to fight it in a number of different ways - militarily, by security, by police, by intelligence."

To this, he added: "And I think it's important to say on a day like this - we've got to also fight it as a battle of of hearts and mind. We've got to separate if you like those great moderate members of our community from a few extremists who wish to practice both violence and inflict maximum loss of life in the interests of a perversion of their religion."

A total of five individuals have been arrested. Two of these arrests two place at Glasgow Airport itself, while two additional people were stopped on the M6 motorway, near Cheshire, and are now been held in police cells. These arrests were instigated by counter-terrorism police, who rapidly established a connection between the Glasgow attack and the twin London incidents a day earlier. This is affirmed by Willie Rae, Strathclyde Police's Chief Constable, who stated: "There are clearly similarities, and we can confirm that [the Glasgow attack] is being treated as a terrorist incident."

On Friday, two vehicles were discovered in London, both of which contained explosive devices. The first of these discoveries occurred early morning in Haymarket, and led to a controlled explosion by police.

The effects of these events have rippled across Britain's airport network, as well as led to security reinforcements at many events, including Wimbledon. One extremely high profile event taking place today is the Princess Diana Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium, at which security levels have been increased significantly. Regarding this, the Metropolitan Police have confirmed that a thorough review of plans had taken place. People attending the Diana Tribute Concert have been urged to limit their personal possessions, in light of the increased searches to take place. Additionally, car parking at Wembley is being limited solely to those vehicles which have booked their spaces in advance.

Glasgow Airport itself, although initially shut-down entirely, is now drifting back to normal operations in phases.

Source - Airport International Newdesk

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