Heathrow bosses were warned its power supply was vulnerable less than a week before a major outage, and a terminal could have got some flights moving by mid-morning rather than being shut for a day, a committee of MPs has heard.

The chief executive of Heathrow Airline Operators’ Committee Nigel Wicking told MPs of the Transport Committee he raised issues about resilience on 15 March after cable and wiring theft took out lights on a runway.

Mr Wicking said he believed Heathrow’s Terminal 5 could have been ready to receive repatriation flights by “late morning” on the day of the closure, as “there was opportunity also to get flights out”.

Politics latest: ‘Disastrous’ not to shut Heathrow during outage, airport boss says

A fire at an electricity substation in west London meant the power supply was disrupted to Europe’s largest airport for a day – causing travel chaos for nearly 300,000 passengers, the committee heard.

“I’d actually warned Heathrow of concerns that we had with regard to the substations and my concern was resilience”, said Mr Wicking, the head of a body representing more than 90 airlines using Heathrow Airport.

“So the first occasion was to team Heathrow director on the 15th of the month of March. And then I also spoke to the chief operating officer and chief customer officer two days before regarding this concern.

“And it was following a number of, a couple of incidents of, unfortunately, theft, of wire and cable around some of the power supply that on one of those occasions, took out the lights on the runway for a period of time. That obviously made me concerned.”

Other problems

The biggest challenge was getting information, Mr Wicking said.

The desire for information on the outage and closure was so large that a Teams call on the day of the closure was “maxed out” with “a thousand participants”, he added.

However, Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldbye said keeping the airport open during last month’s power outage would have been “disastrous”.

There was a risk of having “literally tens of thousands of people stranded in the airport, where we have nowhere to put them”, Mr Woldbye told MPs.

Fire surveillance and CCTV systems were down as a result of having limited electricity, he added, meaning it would not have been safe to reopen.

‘The most expensive airport in the world’

Heathrow should have top quality infrastructure and service, Mr Wicking said.

“It is the most expensive airport in the world with regard to passenger challenges. So from our perspective, that means we should actually have the best service. We should have the best infrastructure,” he added.

A review on resilience at Heathrow was done in 2018, he told MPs, but was told it was “not for sharing” with airlines.

“I think it is for sharing now because frankly, we’re paying enough”, Mr Wickling said he told Mr Woldbye.

“I don’t feel that we should be paying more attention for further resilience. The resilience should have been there in the first place.”

“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.

It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.

It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.

It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.

Follow the events of Liberation Day live as they unfold

Three key figures are central to it all.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.

Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.

His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.

‘Stop that crap’: Trump adviser Peter Navarro reacts to Sky News correspondent’s question over tariffs

The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.

The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.

If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.

What are Donald Trump’s tariffs, what is ‘liberation day’ and how does it all affect the UK?

And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?

“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.

“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.

Dancing to the president’s tune

My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.

Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.

But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.

Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.

One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.

Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.

Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?

The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.

It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.

Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?

Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?

US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.

Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?

For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.

If there is a word that has dominated Donald Trump’s second term, it’s tariffs. 

Aluminium, steel, cars and champagne have all been in his firing line, while China, Canada and Mexico are the countries targeted with the heaviest costs.

Along the way, there have been threats, pauses and postponements.

So what are tariffs, what is in the pipeline – and what could all this mean for the UK?

What are tariffs and why is Trump threatening to use them?

Tariffs are taxes on goods imported into the US.

It is the importers buying the goods who pay the tariffs – therefore, American companies.

Ultimately, the intent is to protect US manufacturing and bolster jobs by making foreign-made products less attractive.

However, there is a knock-on effect: to compensate for tariffs, companies put up their prices, so customers end up paying more for goods.

Tariffs can also damage foreign countries as they make their products pricier and harder to sell.

In his second term, Mr Trump has frequently used them – or the threat of them – as a trade weapon.

They are a key part of Mr Trump’s efforts to reshape global trade relations, and he plans to impose a swathe of what he calls “reciprocal” taxes that would match tariffs levied by other nations.

Tariffs were also part of his playbook in his first term, when he imposed taxes on most goods coming from China and used them as a bargaining chip to force Canada and Mexico to renegotiate a North American trade pact.

On his first day back in office, the US president promised 25% tariffs on all products coming into the US from its nearest neighbours Mexico and Canada – ostensibly to force the countries to tackle illegal migration and fentanyl crossing the border.

What is liberation day?

Mr Trump has branded 2 April “liberation day”, when he could unveil the reciprocal tariffs on countries deemed to be giving the US a bad deal on trade.

The extent of potential tariffs and countries affected remains unclear, with Mr Trump at times sending mixed messages.

On 30 March, he said “all countries” could expect to be hit by tariffs.

Speaking from Air Force One, the US president rubbished a question from a reporter who asked whether it was true he was planning on targeting between 10 and 15 countries.

“Who told you 10-15 countries? You didn’t hear it from me,” he said.

When pressed on how many he was planning to hit, he said: “You’d start with all countries, let’s see what happens.”

Two days prior, he said he was open to carving out deals with countries seeking to avoid US tariffs, but that those agreements would be negotiated after 2 April.

He had previously said he “may give a lot of countries breaks, but it’s reciprocal”, adding: “We might be even nicer than that.”

How could the UK be affected?

The UK hopes an economic deal with the US will spare the country from some of the tariffs.

Sir Keir Starmer and Mr Trump have had “productive negotiations” towards a UK-US “economic prosperity deal”, Downing Street has said.

The two leaders discussed a possible deal in a phone call on Sunday and agreed negotiations will “continue at pace”, according to a statement released on Sunday 30 March.

The day before the so-called “liberation day”, Sir Keir told Sky News political editor Beth Rigby the UK was “working hard on an economic deal” with the US and said “rapid progress” has been made.

But, he admitted: “Look, the likelihood is there will be tariffs. Nobody welcomes that, nobody wants a trade war.

“But I have to act in the national interest and that means all options have to remain on the table.”

Sir Keir added: “We are discussing economic deals. We’re well advanced.

“These would normally take months or years, and in a matter of weeks, we’ve got well advanced in those discussions, so I think that a calm approach, a collected approach, not a knee-jerk approach, is what’s needed in the best interests of our country.”

Mr Trump has not explicitly said the UK is in his sights for further tariffs, though he has described VAT – a tax added on all goods and services in the UK – as unfair.

In deciding what is a reciprocal tariff for the UK, it’s possible Mr Trump could use the tax, typically 20%, to decide.

Data shows no great trade imbalances – the gap between what you import and export from a certain country – and UK figures show no trade deficit with the United States.

UK ministers have previously suggested this could be good news for avoiding new levies.

But the tariffs Mr Trump has already announced would have a big impact on the UK – particularly the car tariff.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business and trade secretary, told Sky News he is “hopeful” the tariffs can be reversed soon.

He warned: “The longer we don’t have a potential resolution, the more we will have to consider our own position in relation to [tariffs], precluding retaliatory tariffs.”

He added the government was taking a “calm-headed” approach in the hope a deal can be agreed, but said it is only “reasonable” that retaliatory tariffs are an option, echoing Sir Keir’s sentiments over the weekend.

What tariffs have already been announced?

Some tariffs have already come into effect, while Mr Trump has confirmed some that will come in on 2 April.

He has said a 25% tariff on all cars imported to the US will come into effect, with a similar tariff on car parts expected to follow in May.

This could prove even more complicated for American car makers, who source components from around the world even if the vehicle is made in the US.

But Mr Trump has insisted the move will “continue to spur growth”, pointing to plans from Hyundai – the South Korean car maker – to build a $5.8bn (£4.5bn) steel plant in Louisiana.

The tariff could have a huge impact on the UK’s car industry, including on manufacturers such as Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce.

Official data shows the US is the UK car sector’s largest single market by country, accounting for £6.4bn worth of car exports in 2023 – 18.4% of the total.

Trump has also said he will place a 25% tariff on all imports from any country that buys oil or gas from Venezuela, which includes the US itself – in addition to imposing new tariffs on the South American country.

On 12 March, a 25% tariff on all steel and aluminium imports to the US came into effect, affecting UK products worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

The move came after he placed a 10% tax on all imports from China, which he later doubled to 20%.

He placed 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but paused them for a month two days after they came into effect, meaning they are set to resume on 2 April.

The pause did not fully cover a tariff of 10% on Canadian energy products.

What has been the global response to tariffs?

There has widely been condemnation of the tariffs, especially from countries worst affected like Mexico and Canada.

Some have imposed, or threatened to impose, retaliatory tariffs.

China has already hit back with retaliatory tariffs covering a range of US goods, including a 15% tariff on coal and liquefied natural gas products, a 10% tariff on US crude oil and tariffs of up to 15% on key US farm exports.

Canada imposed tariffs of its own on US products, including a 25% reciprocal tariff on US steel and aluminium products and tariffs worth an estimated C$29.8bn (£16bn) on a wide range of US products including orange juice, peanut butter, alcohol, coffee and clothing.

Read more on tariffs:
It may be harder for the UK to trump metals tariffs
Stock markets tumble as Trump tariffs loom

The European Union has said it will impose retaliatory tariffs on the US, but when they will come into force is unknown.

The European Commission initially threatened to impose “countermeasures” affecting €26bn (£21.9bn) of US goods from 1 April, but later delayed this until the middle of April.

The bloc said the delay was because it wanted “additional time for discussions” with the US after Mr Trump threatened a 200% tariff on EU alcohol – including wine and champagne – if the bloc imposed duties on US whiskey.

Any tariffs imposed by the bloc would not only impact US steel and aluminium products, but also textiles, home appliances, agricultural goods and whiskey.

Why tariffs could cost you – even if Trump spares UK

Even if no tariffs are put on all UK exports to the US, consumers globally will still be impacted by the wider trade war, particularly in the US.

Economists believe that tariffs will raise costs in the US, sparking a wave of inflation that will keep interest rates higher for longer. The US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is mandated to act to bring inflation down.

More expensive borrowing and costlier goods and services could bring about an economic downturn in the US and have knock-on effects in the UK.

Forecasts from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predict lower UK economic growth due to higher global interest rates.

It estimated that UK GDP (a measure of everything produced in the economy) could be between 2.5% and 3% lower over five years and 0.7% lower this year.

The Centre for Inclusive Trade Policy thinktank said a 20% across-the-board tariff, impacting the UK, could lead to a £22bn reduction in the UK’s US exports, with the hardest-hit sectors including fishing and mining.