Protesters breach Heathrow security

Four Greenpeace activists climbed on top of a jet at Heathrow today in what was described as an "incredible security breach".

The two men and two women posed as staff at Terminal 1, wearing highvisibility jackets and carrying fake ID cards.

They waited until passengers got off the flight from Manchester before walking through double doors, crossing the tarmac and climbing the stairs.

A stand-off with police lasted over an hour after they clambered on to tail section of the British Airways Airbus 320.

Protesting against expansion of the airport, they draped a banner on the tail fin saying "Climate emergency - no third runway" as they gave interviews to the press on mobile phones.

The breach will be an enormous embarrassment to the authorities at Heathrow, where security is supposedly at its tightest in the airport's history.

Sarah Shoraka, 30, spoke from the top of the plane, saying: "We have exposed a hole in security but what we are trying to do is expose a hole in the argument for expanding Heathrow. Aviation is a huge polluter and yet the Government wants to double the size of Heathrow. It is completely crazy." Airports operator BAA launched an investigation. A spokesman said: "We are working with the police, the airline and the relevant authorities. Airport operations are unaffected."

The protest comes two days before the end of a government consultation into the airport's expansion. Greenpeace claims the consultation is "fixed".

A spokeswoman for BAA Heathrow said: "There is an important debate to be had regarding airport expansion and BAA respects people's democratic right to protest lawfully. However, direct action on the airfield is unlawful and irresponsible."