LONDON: BritishSecurity Minister Ben Wallace said the government can now deploy dronedetection systems nationwide, after days of device sightings caused chaos atGatwick Airport and criticism of the government response. Britain'ssecond-busiest airport was forced to close its only runway repeatedly lastWednesday through Friday due to numerous reports of drones, impacting nearly140,000 passengers and leading to the deployment of soldiers.
"We are ableto now deploy detection systems throughout the UK to combat this threat,"Wallace said in a statement. But he warned: "The huge proliferation ofsuch devices, coupled with the challenges of deploying military countermeasures into a civilian environment, means there are no easy solutions."Meanwhile police have received around 30 pieces of "usefulinformation" in the last 24 hours, a police-backed charity said Monday.
The tip-offs cameafter the airport, some 30 miles south of London, on Sunday offered a £50,000($63,000/56,000 euro) reward for information on the incident. "Within thefirst 24 hours we had close to 30 pieces of useful information that we passedon to police," a spokesman for CrimeStoppers, a charity that helps policesolve crimes said. "It's been a good response," he said, adding thatit pays out rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction ofperpetrators. It launched the new appeal Sunday after police released withoutcharge a local couple arrested Friday on suspicion of involvement.
Paul Gait andElaine Kirk, who live in nearby Crawley, said in a statement Monday they felt"completely violated" by their two-day detention. The police rejectedcriticism of their handling of the incident. A detective admitted it was a"possibility" that no drones had actually been in the area-despitethe discovery of a damaged device near the airport perimeter that is now beingforensically examined. "We can unequivocally state that there have beennumerous illegal drone sightings at the airport over three days from 19 to 21December," Sussex police deputy chief constable Jo Shiner said on Monday.
"There werenumerous reports clustered around 37 occasions where a drone or drones wereseen and I am keen for those responsible to be brought to justice," Shinersaid. The force provided fresh details on the sightings, noting that fiveofficers were among the witnesses who reported the devices first appearingWednesday night. Shiner added that police were investigating what would beconsidered "criminal and reckless behavior" under an aviation andmaritime law punishable by a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Police fieldtip-offs
Meanwhile,British police probing the Gatwick Airport drone mystery that groundedChristmas getaway flights last week have received around 30 pieces of"useful information" in the last 24 hours, a police-backed charitysaid. The tip-offs came after the airport on Sunday began offering a £50,000($63,000, 56,000 euro) reward for information on dozens of drone sightingswhich led to the three days of disruption. "Within the first 24 hours wehad close to 30 pieces of useful information that we passed onto police,"a spokesman for CrimeStoppers, a charity that aims to aid police in solvingcrimes, told AFP.
"It's been agood response," he said, adding it pays out rewards if details provided -even anonymously -- lead to the arrest and conviction of perpetrators. Gatwick,Britain's second-busiest airport, was forced to close its only runwayrepeatedly between last Wednesday and Friday due to the drone reports,impacting nearly 140,000 passengers. It launched the new appeal for informationSunday after police released without charge a local couple arrested Friday overthe incident. Paul Gait and Elaine Kirk, who live in nearby Crawley, said in astatement Monday they felt "completely violated" by their two-daydetention.
The police alsoon Monday defended themselves against criticism of their handling of the entireincident. It followed a detective admitting it was a "possibility" nodrones had actually been in the area - despite the discovery of a damageddevice near the airport perimeter now being forensically examined. "We canunequivocally state that there have been numerous illegal drone sightings atthe airport over three days from 19 to 21 December," said Sussex Policedeputy chief constable Jo Shiner. "There were numerous reports clusteredaround 37 occasions where a drone or drones were seen and I am keen for thoseresponsible to be brought to justice."
The forceprovided fresh details on the sightings, noting five officers were among thewitnesses who reported the devices first appearing Wednesday night. Shineradded police were investigating the "criminal and reckless behavior"under an aviation and maritime law "which carries a maximum sentence oflife imprisonment". Government ministers were briefed on the situation ina conference call Monday chaired by Transport Secretary Chris Grayling. Thehour-long briefing included Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington -- PrimeMinister Theresa May's de facto deputy -- and interior minister Sajid Javid.- Agencies