NEW IRA TERROR BOMBS

Cops hunt attacker after travel hubs bombs scare

TERROR police were last night hunting a “jiffy” bag bomber after explosives were found at three major travel hubs.

Packages were discovered at Heathrow, London City Airport and Waterloo station, sparking a huge security scare.

It is feared the New IRA could be involved. One of the makeshift bombs partially went off, but no-one was hurt.

The Metropolitan Police Counter Terrorism Command has launched a probe after yesterday’s “linked” events.

The parcels had Irish stamps on them and are thought to have been posted from Dublin. Irish police are assisting the Met.

A statement from Scotland Yard 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.

“The Met Police has issued advice to transport hubs across London to be vigilant and report suspicious packages to police. No arrests have been made.”

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Our thanks go to police, security, transport staff and all involved for their swift actions to keep our city safe.” The first alert came at a building near Heathrow at around 9.55am. The package was opened by staff causing part of it to burn. No-one was injured.

Less than two hours later British Transport Police rushed to Waterloo after reports of a suspicious package. At 12.10pm, the third package was found at offices near London City Airport.

A statement from London City said: “We can confirm the airport is operating as normal, flights are not impacted and the Docklands Light Railway is fully operated.”

A Heathrow spokesman said: “Earlier today police and emergency response teams attended an incident in the Compass Centre, enabling colleagues to evacuate safely.”