TERROR TARGET MAY FORCE ONE
Stunning security lapse as PM’s f lights left visible on website tracker
TERRORISTS can follow every movement of the Prime Minister’s official aircraft live by using a mobile phone app, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The astonishing security lapse made Theresa May ‘a flying target’ as she arrived in the terror hotspot of Turkey from Washington last week, experts warned.
The exact location of the aircraft, dubbed ‘May Force One’, along with its height, direction and speed was broadcast online as it came in to land in Ankara, the site of terrorist attacks.
Last night, experts called for the on-board transponder that broadcasts the plane’s location to be switched off, as is the case with the US President’s Air Force One jet.
Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said: ‘This is perfect information for a would-be terrorist. They should have turned off the tracker on the plane.
‘It is ridiculous and irresponsible that this information is publicly available. Planes are in the most danger when they are taking off and landing. If you know the next incoming plane has the Prime Minister on board, you can lie in wait and fire something at it.’
The long-range RAF Voyager aircraft was commandeered by Downing Street last year after being converted at a cost of £10million for use by senior Ministers and members of the Royal Family.
The primary function of a plane’s transponder is to communicate with air traffic control during its flight. Civil aircraft have a second transponder which is not visible to enthusiasts’ websites, which means that in exceptional circumstances the other can be turned off safely.
Military and diplomatic flights do not normally appear on tracking sites, but every detail of Mrs May’s international flights last week was available to anyone who logged on to the Flightradar24 website, or who had bought its £2.49 mobile app.
The Prime Minister flew from London to Philadelphia before jetting to Washington to meet Donald Trump. She then departed from Andrews Air Force Base and flew to Ankara for talks.
Following a series of recent terror atrocities in Turkey, the Foreign Office has issued an official warning of a ‘heightened risk of terrorist attack against the aviation industry in Turkey’.
Yet at the airport in Ankara, every moment of the plane’s landing and take-off was broadcast live on an interactive map.
Professor Anthony Glees, head of the University of Buckingham’s Centre for Security and Intelligence Studies, said: ‘This is beyond absurd – it is extremely dangerous. Theresa May is one of the most important and high-profile people in the world right now, having just met President Trump.
‘She is at a real and obvious risk from terrorists.
‘She has flown into a dangerous area and her plane is completely visible online. She is a flying target. The mind boggles, frankly. What are they up to?’
Last night a spokesman for No10 declined to comment.