First Response

BIGGIN HILL AIRPORT (7.18 p.m.)

A bomb-disposal technician in a full bomb suit used a large pair of industrial bolt-cutters to separate the last of the chains. A policeman in a fluorescent jacket rushed the woman hostage out of the hangar.

A second technician removed the vest, carried it to a line of sandbags and placed it carefully with the eight vests that had already been removed. The Asian man’s wrists were bound behind his back with plastic ties, then two SAS troopers hustled him outside and made him kneel on the ground with the rest of the men who had been taken off the coach. All nine stared silently at their captors. Those who had tried to speak had been slapped and told to keep their mouths shut.

The Bomb Squad leader walked out of the hangar, removed his helmet and waved at Hawkins to join him. Hawkins jogged over, his MP5 at his side. ‘They’re fake,’ said the bomb-disposal expert.

‘You mean they can’t be detonated using the triggers?’ said Hawkins.

The man shook his head. ‘Nothing can detonate them. They’re fake. The explosive isn’t real. It’s Plasticine or something. And the wiring’s all wrong.’

‘I was told they could be detonated by phone.’

‘Then you were told wrong,’ said the technician. ‘They look the part, but they’re totally inert. There was never a chance of them blowing up. It’s a con. A scam. We’ve all been wasting our bloody time.’