Police and firefighters are carrying out enquiries into an incident which sparked the evacuation of Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 4.

The terminal was evacuated while emergency services responded to what emergency firefighters initially described as a “possible hazardous materials incident”.

Around 21 people were assessed at the scene by paramedics from the London Ambulance Service after reporting injuries, with one person taken to hospital.

However, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said “no trace of any adverse substance was found.”

“Around twenty people reported an injury. None were deemed to be life-threatening or life-changing. Enquiries are ongoing,” a spokesperson for the force said.

A Heathrow Airport spokesperson said at around 6.40pm that the check-in area of Terminal 4 had been closed and evacuated while emergency services responded to an incident.

The terminal was declared “safe to reopen” shortly after 8pm.

In a statement, an airport spokesperson said: “Emergency services have confirmed Terminal 4 is safe to reopen and we are doing everything we can to ensure all flights to depart as planned today.

“We are very sorry for the disruption caused, the safety and security of our passengers and colleagues is our number one priority.

“We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight this evening and our colleagues will be on hand into the night to assist.”

All other terminals at the UK’s busiest airport continued to operate as normal during the incident.

A London Fire Brigade (LFB) spokesperson initially described the incident as a “possible hazardous materials incident” and said that specialist crews had been deployed to carry out an assessment of the scene.

The spokesperson added: “The brigade was first called about the incident at 5.01pm, and crews from Feltham, Heathrow, Wembley and surrounding fire stations have been sent to the scene.”

Eyewitness Paul Scott said he had just checked in and was about to go through security when the evacuation happened.

He told Sky News that everyone who was in the departure hall had been evacuated and passengers were ushered away to about 150 metres from the terminal building.

He said privacy screens had been put up and he saw a number of people in white suits arriving at the scene.

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Mr Scott said a man with a loudspeaker had said it was a specialist team.

He said the mood was fine, but it was a little confusing as no one really knew what was going on.

Mr Scott, who was planning to fly to Sri Lanka on business as part of a group of six, said people have been handing out foil blankets as the temperature was dropping.

The UK could suspend visas from countries that do not “play ball” and agree to returns deals for migrants, the new home secretary has said.

Speaking to broadcasters, Shabana Mahmood repeatedly said that her “top priority” is to “secure our borders”, and called on countries to take back their citizens if they have no right to be in the UK.

The government is under vast pressure to stop small boats crossing the English Channel – over 30,000 people have arrived so far this year, including over 1,000 people on Saturday alone.

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The new home secretary is hosting her counterparts from fellow members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance – which includes the US, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand – to discuss “what more we can do to work together to make sure that our borders are secure and that all citizens feel safe”.

Speaking to broadcasters during the summit, Ms Mahmood said: “For countries that do not play ball, we’ve been talking about how we can take much more co-ordinated action between the Five Eyes countries.

“For us, that means including possibly the cutting of visas in the future, just to say, you know, we do expect countries to play ball, play by the rules, and if one of your citizens has no right to be in our country, you do need to take them back.”

She repeatedly vowed to do “whatever it takes” to stop small boat crossings, and she rejected the suggestion that she is emulating policies already proposed by other parties, saying: “This is a Labour government with Labour policy and Labour proposals.

“We’ve been looking at this for some time. It’s been discussed already across the government, and I’m very clear that there has to be a strong approach to maintaining our border, and that does mean saying to countries who do not take their citizens back that we’re not simply going to allow our laws to remain unenforced.”

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But shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: “All we get from Labour are tough words. I urged them to immediately use the powers which the last government created some months ago, but nothing has happened. We should also cut overseas aid to countries not taking back their own nationals.

“This Labour government is too weak to take the steps necessary to protect our borders, and I see no sign of that changing any time soon.”

Ms Mahmood also suggested that the government could roll out digital ID as part of measures to prevent illegal working and reduce the “pull factors” that draw migrants to the UK.

While she has long been personally in favour of them, she said the government current position is to “look at” them, and she will be “discussing” the possibility of rolling them out with government colleagues.

Balance between human rights and securing borders

The home secretary also reiterated that the UK will not be leaving the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) – as Reform UK and some in the Tory party have called for – because that would have “other consequences that we think are not in our national interest”.

“We absolutely see the case for reform primarily in our domestic, legal framework, tightening up the rules,” she said.

“In the end, this is about how you strike the balance between human rights on the one hand, and securing our borders. I do think that that balance isn’t in the right place at the moment. That’s why we will come forward with changes to our domestic legislation and the guidance in terms of how we apply some of the convention rights legally here at home.”

She added that she will continue work she started in her previous post of justice secretary to reform the convention and ensure it is “fit for purpose in the modern era”.

Ms Mahmood’s comments come on her third day in her new role of home secretary, which she was given in a wide-ranging cabinet and ministerial reshuffle, triggered by the resignation of Angela Rayner as housing secretary and deputy prime minister on Friday, after admitting to underpaying stamp duty on a new property.

There was a clear out of the ministerial team in the Home Office, with new ministers brought in as the government seeks to get a grip on small boat crossings and close asylum hotels amid protests.

Dover MP Mike Tapp – a strong proponent of taking tough measures to break up criminal gangs and stop boats landing on British shores – is one of those MPs who has been given his first ministerial role in the Home Office.

A terminal at Heathrow Airport has been evacuated while emergency services respond to a “possible hazardous materials incident”.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Terminal 4 check-in has been closed and evacuated while emergency services respond to an incident.

“We are asking passengers not to travel to Terminal 4 and supporting those on site. All other terminals are operating as normal. We will provide further information as soon as we can.”

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters are responding to a possible hazardous materials incident at Heathrow Airport.

“Specialist crews have been deployed to carry out an assessment of the scene, and part of the airport has been evacuated as a precaution whilst firefighters respond.”

Pictures shared on social media appeared to show a number of ambulances outside the airport’s Terminal 4.

National Rail said trains were not calling at Heathrow Terminal 4 due to “emergency services dealing with an incident”.

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