Afghan hijacker found working at Heathrow

I recently had a young man argue to me that 9/11 has been "whored out" as a political issue. It's started a war, we've taken it to a nation that had nothing to do with 9/11, and we are wrong.

Sorry, kid, not buying it. They are still on our home turf. They still want to kill us.

Airport security was condemned as a joke after an Afghan involved in the Stansted hijacking was found to be working at Heathrow as a cleaner.

Police arrested Nazamuddin Mohammidy at Terminal 5 where he showed his British Airways pass allowing him access to secure areas.

The Tories said it was a breathtaking breach of security and demanded immediate action from the Government.

Mohammidy, 34, was one of nine Afghans who won the right to live in Britain after hijacking a passenger flight in Afghanistan in 2000. The Boeing 727 was flown to Stansted in Essex where the captors threatened to kill the 160 passengers unless they were granted asylum.

The gang was jailed but later released and given the right to remain in Britain rent-free, receiving £150,000 a year in benefits.

It emerged police pulled over Mohammidy as he was driving round Terminal 5 because they thought he was an unlicensed cab driver. He told them he worked at the airport and they were stunned when they checked out his story and found he was a former hijacker.

This sure is comforting.

Yesterday Shadow Home Secretary David Davis said: "It is clear the Government do not have a grip on airport security.

"This individual should patently not be permitted access to secure locations at our airports, and immediate checks must be made on all other employees."

Tory aviation-spokesman Julian Brazier has written to Transport Minister Jim Fitzpatrick describing the breach as "beyond parody."

After police pulled in Mohammidy at Terminal 5, they also discovered he was in breach of bail conditions over an assault charge.

He is accused of beating up a former landlord and is due before magistrates on Monday.

Even though this took place in the UK, it in no way is far enough for me to feel safe. Who knows who could be working at our own facilities here in the US? Reminder: this is how they did it the first time. Are we going to remember that at all?