LONDON:STREETS IN central London were closed off for a number of hours yesterday morning while bomb disposal experts destroyed a suspect abandoned suitcase, less than 12 hours after a bomb threat by dissident republicans.
In a call to the Metropolitan Police received on Sunday evening, a man, using a recognised code word, claimed that a bomb had been left primed in the city, though no location was given.
Shortly after 9.30am yesterday, the alarm was raised on Northumberland Avenue, just off Trafalgar Square, when a suitcase was discovered abandoned. However, it was found to be harmless.
Last night the Metropolitan Police, which is preparing for US president Barack Obama’s visit next week, said the suitcase incident was not linked to the dissident threat. “We get these all the time,” said a spokesman.
Urging all police officers to be “highly vigilant”, the Metropolitan Police said: “Policing operations and contingency planning remain under constant review, and a wide range of overt and covert tactics will continue to be used in London.”
The threat posed by dissident republicans remains at “substantial”, meaning that an attack is considered a strong possibility but no credible intelligence exists to suggest that one is imminent. The threat level was raised from moderate last September.
Meanwhile, bomb disposal experts were sent to check a manhole cover on The Mall near Buckingham Palace after it was found to have slipped out of position. This could, however, have been caused by traffic.
Roads around Admiralty Arch were reopened after a number of drains were searched and nothing was found. Significant traffic delays were caused as a result.
