Russia warehouse fire: Moscow accused of 'planting bomb' on plane to UK that later caused fire in Birmingham warehouse

Counter-terrorism police are looking into possible links between the fire and Moscow. Nobody was hurt during the incident on 22 July and the blaze was put out by local staff and firefighters.

The parcel is believed to have arrived at the DHL warehouse by air, though it is not known if it was a cargo or passenger aircraft, nor where it was destined for. There could have been serious consequences if it had ignited during the flight.

A similar incident occurred in Germany, also in late July, when a suspect package bound for a flight caught fire at another DHL facility in Leipzig, and investigators are looking at links between the two. Thomas Haldenwang, the head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, told members of the country’s parliament on Monday that had the Leipzig package started burning during a flight “it would have resulted in a crash”.

However, the incident in Birmingham was only disclosed after joint inquiries by the Guardian and German broadcasters WDR and NDR. This has prompted questions as to why the authorities did not reveal it earlier.

A Metropolitan police counter-terrorism spokesperson told The Guardian: “We can confirm that officers from counter-terrorism policing are investigating an incident at a commercial premises in Midpoint Way, Minworth. On Monday 22 July, a package at the location caught alight. It was dealt with by staff and the local fire brigade at the time and there were no reports of any injuries or significant damage caused.”

British investigators suspect that the planting of the device is part of a wider campaign that Russian spies have been carrying out across Europe this year. Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned last week that Russia’s GRU military intelligence appeared to be on “a sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets: we’ve seen arson, sabotage and more”.

No arrests have been made in relation to the Birmingham fire, and British police inquiries are continuing. The police spokesperson told The Guardian: “Officers are liaising with other European law enforcement partners to identify whether this may or may not be connected to any other similar-type incidents across Europe.” The Guardian approached DHL which said it was taking action “to secure its network, staff and assets as well as customer shipments” in reaction to what it described as “ongoing investigations by authorities from several countries”.