New photo Police are told to step aside amid growing criticism of 'inadequate' handling of Gatwick drone

The Gatwick drone investigation has been so embarrassing for law enforcement the Metropolitan Police could be called in to take over from Sussex Police.

Politicians have called for city detectives to head out to Crawley and handle the probe into how a flying device entered airspace and grounded 1,000 flights just days before Christmas.

As many as 140,000 passengers were stranded, disrupted and some were left waiting on planes for hours as the runway was sealed off.

Officers failed to find the drone – and then arrested an innocent couple before releasing them without charge. The following day, officers said there may never have been a drone in the first place - despite MailOnline receiving footage which showed evidence to the contrary. 

Detective Chief Superintendent Jason Tingley said it was a 'possibility' there may never have been any drones in the area, despite scores of sightings which led to the closure of the airport for three days and caused massive disruption for passengers.  

Lord Harris of Haringey, the former Home Office representative to the Metropolitan Police Authority said the matter hit critical national infrastructure meaning the nation's most elite should be called in.

Chaos was caused by drone sightings at Gatwick Airport on December 19 as passengers were left stranded 

Passengers trying to get home for the festive season were trapped in the airport and on planes as police were called in

He told The Telegraph: 'Clearly if you treated it like a terrorist threat, the Metropolitan Police would have been leading the operation,' he added.

'The old days of calling in Scotland Yard for a crime the local force can't solve have probably long passed, but yes you could have done that.

'However, the margins between somebody playing around at an airport...and somebody trying to do serious harm is probably quite a fine one and difficult to determine.'

Military equipment was set up as snipers were called in to shoot down a drone - but it was not found

Details of the drone sightings that brought Gatwick to a standstill 

Sussex Police today released details of the sightings that took place from 9pm on December 19 to December 21.

They are:

The first report was at around 9am when an airport security officer finishing work reported seeing two drones flying near Perimeter Road South, describing their cross shape and flashing lights. 

Half an hour later at about 9.30pm six people, including five police officers, reported within 15 minutes of each other seeing a drone, with white and red lights, near the runway.

Early the next morning at around 1.15am on 20 December, six people – three airport workers and three police officers – reported over 30 minutes seeing a drone near the runway.

Over about 30 minutes at about 5pm on 21 December six people – a member of the public and five police officers – reported seeing a drone near a hangar.

In a further report at around 7.15pm on 21 December a pilot reported seeing a drone near a stand on the airfield. The account was corroborated by a member of staff.  

Lord Harris was also involved in telling the government two years ago the battle against drones would come, and urgent research was needed.

John Woodcock MP, a member of the Commons home affairs committee, said there was a 'gap in expertise' which needed to be filled.

He said: 'This whole sorry episode shows why we need a nationally agreed and understood robust procedure for dealing with incidents like this.

'The country has been caught on the hop. There may be a case for a different police force [to get involved].'

A £50,000 reward is now being offered by Gatwick Airport to help catch those behind the chaos. 

Paul Gait, 47, and Elaine Kirk, 54, were held for 36 hours by Sussex Police and said they were 'completely violated' when their home was searched.

Mr Gait had an alibi – in that he was at work – and his employer said officers were told, but refused to listen.

There were dozens of sightings of the alleged drone but police said they were struggling because they were going on 'reports' and not solid evidence via reliable footage.

They later said a broken drone was found around the perimeter of the airport.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said drone detection systems will be deployed throughout the UK, with Gatwick spending £5m in recent days to prevent copycat attacks.

Paul Gait, 47, and his wife Elaine Kirk spoke today outside their home in Crawley, West Sussex

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News Pictures Police are told to step aside amid growing criticism of 'inadequate' handling of Gatwick drone

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