Three London transport hubs are sealed off as terror police reveal the small IEDs with 'love from Ireland' stamps were sent in A4-sized yellow Jiffy bags
- Packages in yellow Jiffy bags were received by workers at Heathrow Airport, City Airport and Waterloo station
Areas of the three major transport terminals were sealed off, but impact on flights and trains was limited
Police have now confirmed devices were small improvised explosive devices, capable of starting a fire
The device sent to an office building near Heathrow went off, causing a fire, but other two were not opened
The crude explosives arrived at office buildings at the UK's busiest airport and railway station this morning carrying an Irish postage stamp.
The device sent to Heathrow started to burn when the bag was opened, prompting office workers to flee the building as the small fire was quenched and specialist Met Police officers made the device safe.
Similar packages arrived in a post room at Waterloo and an admin building at City Airport later on Tuesday, but were not opened.
No-one was injured by the packages and there was little disruption to rail or air passengers even as Scotland Yard's Terrorism Command sealed off parts of the transport hubs.
Police said they were keeping an 'open mind' about a possible motive, as security sources said the devices did not appear to be sophisticated.
The first package went off at the offices of Heathrow Airport bosses in a building called The Compass Centre, to the north of the runway, shortly before 10am today.
Nobody was hurt in the small fire which ensued but the building was evacuated and anti-terror experts took over and made the device safe.
Shortly after 11.30am, a similar device was found in the post room at Waterloo Station. This package was not opened and police experts have made it safe.
The third package was received around midday at City Aviation House in the Royal Docks. Again staff were evacuated and the package was not opened before bomb squad experts took over.
All the packages were A4-sized white postal bags containing yellow Jiffy bags and appeared capable of igniting a small fire when opened, police said.
They were marked with a 'love stamp' issued by the Republic of Ireland in 2018, showing a decorative red heart and the words 'Love' and 'Eire'.
The possible link to Ireland comes just weeks before a 'hard border' between the Republic and Northern Ireland could come into force in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
In a statement released this afternoon, a Met spokesman said: 'The packages – all A4-sized white postal bags containing yellow Jiffy bags - have been assessed by specialist officers to be small improvised explosive devices.
'These devices, at this early stage of the investigation, appear capable of igniting an initially small fire when opened.'
British Transport Police officers had to rush away from a Security Expo at the Olympia exhibition centre in Kensington when they received the alert, Sky News reported.
One man who was among staff outside the Network Rail office at Waterloo said he was the individual who found the package.
Asked about the discovery, he said: 'I'm sorry, I've been told I can't talk about it.'
No one has been injured in the three incidents, police said. No arrests have been made.
Officers received a report of a suspicious package at The Compass Centre, a building near Heathrow Airport boundary, shortly before 10am.
A statement from Scotland Yard said: 'The package was opened by staff at the building, causing the device to initiate. This resulted in part of the package burning.'
The building was evacuated as a precaution and specialist officers attended the scene to make the device safe.
Police said the building remains closed as enquiries.
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