Security breach

last updated 8 January 2015

London

A top-secret police dossier detailing ways that terrorists might strike Heathrow airport was discovered lying in the road this week near one of the terminals. The passerby who found the papers promptly sold them to The Sun tabloid. According to the newspaper, the documents describe the most vulnerable areas of the airport and identify 62 sites where missile launches would be most accurate and hardest to prevent. They also reveal sensitive information about counterterrorism measures police have been taking, including evacuation plans and the placement of snipers. The Sun returned the documents to Scotland Yard, which is investigating how they were mislaid. “I’m just glad it was me that found them,” said the man who provided the documents to the newspaper, “and not some mad follower of Osama bin Laden.”