Suspects that could be behind catastrophe

ECO-WARRIORS

POLICE are investigating if climate change protesters could be behind the drone. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: ‘It could be an environmental protest.’

Groups such as Plane Stupid have carried out high-profile protests, but usually claim responsibility. Thirteen Plane Stupid activists chained themselves on a Heathrow runway in 2015. But the group said reports they were to blame are ‘rubbish’.

LONE WOLF

AN anarchic loner seeking to cause maximum chaos in the build-up to Christmas may be to blame. Experts have said the attacks involved high-powered drones which required financing and technical knowledge beyond a drone ‘hobbyist’.

Normal drone users would be unable to remove the ‘geofencing’ software that stops them working near airports.

CAMPAIGN GROUPS

PROTESTERS campaigning against noise, expansion, or deportation flights have previously targeted airports.

Gatwick is at the centre of a bitter row over plans to use its emergency runway to bring in 100,000 additional flights, which has angered local residents. Meanwhile, 15 activists from the group End Deportations were convicted last week of endangering safety at Stansted Airport in March 2017, when they locked themselves around a Boeing 767 chartered by the Home Office to deport undocumented immigrants.

Noise pollution campaigners also attracted criticism after they branded the crisis an ‘early Christmas present’.

FOREIGN POWER

MR Grayling yesterday refused to rule out the involvement of a foreign government, although he thought it was ‘unlikely’.

Steve Coulson, managing director of drone detection firm Coptrz, said: ‘The operator may not even be in the country. You can have a secure internet link from China or Russia and control it remotely.’

TERRORISM

BOTH police and the Government say there are no indications that the drone activity is in any way terror-related.

PRANKSTER

AN online ‘prankster’ claimed responsibility on social media, posting a video of a drone next to his laptop. Twitter users accused him of capitalising on the chaos to boost his following.