How Security Flaws May Have Led To Bomb On Jet

A former head of security at Heathrow Airport has told Sky News he expects investigators probing the Egypt plane crash will be examining whether a bomb was put on board by somone who had access to the jet on the runway.

Norman Shanks said that while it is possible security staff could have failed to detect a device as it passed through airport scanners, there were other ways of getting an explosive device inside the plane.

He said: "I would expect the team there to be looking at those other measures as well, like catering, like cargo, like access to the aircraft itself, access to the ramp where it is parked."

Mr Shanks' comments come after Sky News was told about lax security at Sharm el Sheikh airport, where the Russian jet departed on Saturday.

The Metrojet plane, which was carrying 224 people, came down in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, killing everyone on board.

An affiliate of the extremist group Islamic State has claimed responsibility, and Prime Minister David Cameron has said it is "more likely than not" the jet was downed by a bomb.

Flights to and from Sharm were suspended indefinitely on Wednesday by the UK over the security concerns, but repatriation flights for British tourists will start on Friday.

Travellers Sky News has spoken to reported bags there being left unattended, disinterested security staff and airside workers passing through the airport unchecked - even though Egyptian politicians say the airport's standards are in line with international requirements.

Hossam Kamal, Egypt's minister for civil aviation, has said every airport in the country - including the terminals in Sharm - apply international standards in security measures, with regular checks performed by US and UK audit teams.

Mr Shanks said he had travelled through the airport 11 years ago and found it to be a "very typical tourist airport", with "security staff doing what they do, sometimes well, sometimes not so well".

He added that while it was normal for staff at European airports to pass through the same security as passengers, such a practice was not commonplace elsewhere.

"We've been screening staff going into the airport since 1991 (in the aftermath of the Lockerbie disaster)," he said.

"It took 10 or 12 years before we could convince our colleagues in Europe it was a wise move. Then around 2003 they implemented it as well.

"It's done in a handful of airports around the world; it’s not by any means a standard practice."

Mr Shanks went on to say: "The primary reason we do that is to prevent a device being taken through and put on an aircraft.

"So that's one area they will be looking at."