Gatwick Airport remains on terror alert but it was business as usual today following the drama which saw hundreds of people evacuated from the busy North Terminal.

Anti-terrorism officers were continuing to question a 37-year old man man who was caught with a live hand grenade in his luggage on arrival at the airport on a British Airways flight from Venezuela on Thursday.

MP Laura Moffatt praised vigilant Customs staff for intercepting the man and Gatwick boss Roger Cato thanked his own workers for the part they played in handling the emergency.

There was also a pat on the back for the staff at Le Meridien Hotel who coped with the influx of nearly 300 passengers in ten minutes.

Mrs Moffatt is now asking questions about security at Gatwick.

The Crawley MP said: "The customs staff are in the front line protecting us all. We can only imagine the tension of the scenario but they were clearly vigilant and did an excellent job for which we are all extremely grateful.

"I wrote to the Home Secretary earlier this week to ask for an update on security at the airport and I will go public with any response."

With troops in place at Heathrow, security at Gatwick was tightened but still unobtrusive yesterday.

But Mr Cato is adamant enough is being done. He said: "The response to the incident demonstrates just how closely the airport, police and other agencies work together to ensure the safety and security of passengers and staff at the airport is maintained."

British Airways staff were travelling to Venezuela to investigate how the man managed to board a plane without a live hand grenade being detected.

Checks are being made in the capital Caracas to establish his background while he remains at high security Paddington Green police station in London.

The man was on British Airways flight BA 2048 carrying 125 passengers from Bogota in Columbia.

Passengers at Gatwick were immediately evacuated from the airport's North Terminal after the grenade was found and outbound flights were suspended.

Around 150 people were forced to spend the night wrapped in blankets.

A British Airways spokeswoman said around 4,000 of its passengers were affected by the security alert.