Is foul play to blame for the Heathrow fire?

Ed Miliband has made the confident and somewhat premature reassurance that there is ‘no sign of foul play’ in the fire that has occurred at the electricity substation serving Heathrow airport. Nevertheless, investigators combing through the debris will presumably be starting with the question in their mind: ‘Could this be a work of sabotage by Russia or some other hostile organisation or state?’

Even if it turns out not to have been, bad actors will have gained a very useful indication of how vulnerable Britain’s infrastructure is to attack. With the airport due to be closed until midnight at the earliest, at least 1,350 flights will have been cancelled or diverted, and a minimum of 291,000 passengers will have had their travel plans upended. In practice, it will be far more than this, as the chaos will leave aircraft out of position for flights over the coming days.