Teesider,
I would not trust BA to protect your short-haul connection. During the last strike BA cancelled our connecting flight out of Heathrow and, despite promises in the media to reroute us on other airlines, other flights, other ... , they didn't. We were given an option of returning a day earlier or a refund. So we agreed to travel the day earlier, a non-strike day. They then cancelled the day earlier connecting flight out of Heathrow, and told us we could 'stand-by' for a later flight that day. No guarantees, no compensation, nothing. After sweating for 24 hours or so, not knowing if we could get home, we did.
Expect the worst. (and I'm ex-gold, currently silver, and soon to be blue). You can't trust these bar-stewards.