Fears Russia could be behind the blaze that broke out near Heathrow Airport must be urgently looked into, a security expert has said with the blaze wreaking havoc for thousands of travellers today.
Europe's busiest airport has since shut down its services for the rest of the day after a power outage left Heathrow in the dark.
Counter-terrorism police have been called in to investigate the cause of the blaze at the electricity substation, with reports suggesting officers will look to establish any evidence of sabotage.
Security expert Will Geddes suggested Vladimir Putin could look to target the substation amid growing tensions between London and Moscow.
Geddes told the Daily Mail: "If I was a foreign hostile party and I wanted to disrupt one of the busiest airports in the world, cause international embarrassment, create many, many question marks, I would target something like a substation.
"The Russians are looking at everything. They're looking at our fibre optics under the sea, they're looking at our nuclear power stations, we know hostile reconnaissance is going on right now.
"So for this to be taken down so easily and cause such an impact, one has got to say if I was Russia, that's where I would focus my attentions as well."
In the wake of the blaze, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has demanded an improvement of "protection and resilience of major institutions".
He added that the fire "appears to have knocked out a back-up generator as well as the substation itself" and had added that its closure made the airport appear "quite vulnerable".
The Labour Minister told the BBC: "It’s too early to say what caused this but I think obviously we will have to look hard at the causes and also the protection and the resilience that is in place for major institutions like Heathrow."
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After the blaze erupted overnight, total travel chaos has ensued with more than 1,300 flights cancelled and commuters' journeys thrown into utter disarray.
Following this scenario, the Energy Secretary has said that "we've got to understand why this happened, and we've got to work out what the lessons are for the resilience of our infrastructure".
Additionally, he reported that National Grid had informed him that they had not witnessed "anything like the scale" of the fire.
Meanwhile, Miliband's plea for greater resilience has echoed individuals' demands online this morning as Britons rage at Europe's biggest airport - yet is unable to run for the entire day.
One posted on X: "Britain is a global laughing stock.
"A single electrical fire closes Heathrow. No resilience planning."
The London Fire Brigade has confirmed the mammoth blaze is now under control.
"Our fire investigators will begin their investigation and we will continue working closely with our partners to minimise disruption and support the community," the statement has said.
Find Out More...
Europe's busiest airport has since shut down its services for the rest of the day after a power outage left Heathrow in the dark.
Counter-terrorism police have been called in to investigate the cause of the blaze at the electricity substation, with reports suggesting officers will look to establish any evidence of sabotage.
Security expert Will Geddes suggested Vladimir Putin could look to target the substation amid growing tensions between London and Moscow.
Geddes told the Daily Mail: "If I was a foreign hostile party and I wanted to disrupt one of the busiest airports in the world, cause international embarrassment, create many, many question marks, I would target something like a substation.
"The Russians are looking at everything. They're looking at our fibre optics under the sea, they're looking at our nuclear power stations, we know hostile reconnaissance is going on right now.
"So for this to be taken down so easily and cause such an impact, one has got to say if I was Russia, that's where I would focus my attentions as well."
In the wake of the blaze, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has demanded an improvement of "protection and resilience of major institutions".
He added that the fire "appears to have knocked out a back-up generator as well as the substation itself" and had added that its closure made the airport appear "quite vulnerable".
The Labour Minister told the BBC: "It’s too early to say what caused this but I think obviously we will have to look hard at the causes and also the protection and the resilience that is in place for major institutions like Heathrow."
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After the blaze erupted overnight, total travel chaos has ensued with more than 1,300 flights cancelled and commuters' journeys thrown into utter disarray.
Following this scenario, the Energy Secretary has said that "we've got to understand why this happened, and we've got to work out what the lessons are for the resilience of our infrastructure".
Additionally, he reported that National Grid had informed him that they had not witnessed "anything like the scale" of the fire.
Meanwhile, Miliband's plea for greater resilience has echoed individuals' demands online this morning as Britons rage at Europe's biggest airport - yet is unable to run for the entire day.
One posted on X: "Britain is a global laughing stock.
"A single electrical fire closes Heathrow. No resilience planning."
The London Fire Brigade has confirmed the mammoth blaze is now under control.
"Our fire investigators will begin their investigation and we will continue working closely with our partners to minimise disruption and support the community," the statement has said.
Find Out More...