Manchester mayor wants fake bomb inquiry
Jill Lawless And Danica Kirka - AP on May 17, 2016, 12:01 am
The mayor of greater Manchester is demanding an inquiry into a security "fiasco" that saw Manchester United's stadium evacuated after a fake bomb was left behind from a security training exercise.
The discovery of the realistic-looking dummy bomb on Sunday prompted the evacuation of the 75,000-seat Old Trafford stadium minutes before Manchester United's last game of the season was due to start.
Army bomb disposal experts blew up the fake device, described by police as "incredibly lifelike".
"Fiasco is the right word," Mayor Tony Lloyd said. "It was shambolic."
John O'Hare, Assistant Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, said the device was very realistic and it was the right decision to evacuate the stadium.
Police said the device discovered in a toilet just before kick off was left by a private company after a drill using search dogs last week.
British media identified the firm involved as Security Search Management and Solutions, which conducted an exercise last week with Manchester United's search-dog teams.
Lloyd praised the police response but said the incident had put people in danger.
He said Manchester United needed to come up with some answers including why it wasn't noticed the dummy bomb was missing in the first place, and why it was then only found by security shortly before kick off when tens of thousands of people had already arrived.
Lloyd said the current focus is on security but there were further questions on who will pay for the large police and Army deployment over the scare.
Sunday's evacuation came amid tightened security at Premier League stadiums following last year's Paris attacks that targeted the Stade de France stadium as well as cafes, bars and a concert hall.
Britain last week upgraded the threat of an attack on the mainland from Northern Irish militants from moderate to substantial, meaning an attack is a strong possibility.
The Provisional Irish Republican Army has observed a cease-fire since July 1997 and renounced violence in 2005, but several rival factions opposed to Northern Ireland's peace process have mounted gun and bomb attacks on police and security officials in recent years.
The threat level to the UK from international terrorism stands at severe, the second highest point on a five-point scale, meaning an attack is "highly likely".
