Terror blunder

Ulster Loyalist William McArthur gained a job on a construction site at the airport's new £2 billion Terminal 5, despite having a conviction that linked him to a terrorist group. McArthur, who is working for Irish building firm Laing O'Rourke, was sentenced to prison for eight years for smuggling guns to the Ulster Volunteer Force, a group notorious for murdering six Catholics watching World Cup soccer in an Irish pub in 1994. The 49-year-old, from Falkirk, Scotland, has only recently been released from Shotts Prison in Strathclyde.

While McArthur has been a regular on the building site he has not been able to access restricted security areas, as a BAA spokesperson explained: "T5 is a contained construction site, not a restricted security area of the airport. Construction employees on the T5 site do not have access to restricted areas of the airport."

McArthur did not have to undergo a criminal record check, because he was not working in a restricted security area. However, the spokesperson added: "Unlike the majority of building sites, T5 does require its contractors to undertake employment record checks on their employees. We will investigate this matter further to see what action is required."

Tory security spokesman Patrick Mercer said of the event: "This shows it's possible for someone with a terrorist background to get into this sort of job, and how imperfect the screening system is."

The news comes as the Met unveiled a campaign aimed at preventing terror attacks. The Life Savers' campaign encourages members of the public to ring a free confidential anti-terrorist hotline if they know or see anything that could be linked to terrorist activity.

DAC Peter Clarke, head of the Met's Anti-Terrorist Branch, said: "All communities have a role to play in tackling the terrorist threat. I would urge anyone - whether they live in London or elsewhere in the UK - who has information about suspicious behaviour to contact us on 0800 789 321."