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Manchester attack: UK threat level reduced from critical to severe – live Manchester attack: UK threat level reduced from critical to severe – live
(35 minutes later)
1.45pm BST
13:45
Police in Scotland are to remain on “enhanced deployment” this weekend despite the terror threat level being reduced, PA reports.
Police Scotland said there was no specific threat north of the border, but armed officers will be in attendance at the Scottish Cup final on Saturday afternoon, where extra security checks are also in place. Supporters have been told to expect delays on entry to the stadium.
Chief constable Phil Gormley said:
While the decision to move to severe is welcome, we must all remain vigilant. There continues to be no intelligence of a specific threat to Scotland. However, the enhanced police deployment we have planned for the major events this weekend will remain in place.
The public should continue to expect to see armed police officers on foot patrol at key locations. Our policing operation will gradually be scaled back in keeping with the UK-wide operation, but will continue to be proportionate.
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13:32
Greater Manchester police have tweeted their response to the downgrade in the UK’s terror threat level. “It does not alter our response to Monday’s horrific attack,” chief constable Ian Hopkins is quoted as saying. “The level of resources we have available to us remains the same,” he added.
Statement from @CCIanHopkins about the change in national threat level. pic.twitter.com/BsyVRbL3rI
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Radio 1’s Big Weekend will hold a minute’s silence at the event to remember victims of the Manchester bombing, PA reports. The two-day festival kicked off on Saturday afternoon with an increased police presence following the attack at Manchester Arena.Radio 1’s Big Weekend will hold a minute’s silence at the event to remember victims of the Manchester bombing, PA reports. The two-day festival kicked off on Saturday afternoon with an increased police presence following the attack at Manchester Arena.
Before singer Zara Larsson opened the festival on the main stage, the event tweeted: “There will be a minute’s silence at Radio 1’s Big Weekend at 3pm - to remember our fellow music lovers who died in Manchester.” Before singer Zara Larsson opened the festival on the main stage, the event tweeted: “There will be a minute’s silence at Radio 1’s Big Weekend at 3pm – to remember our fellow music lovers who died in Manchester.”
Fifty thousand music fans are gathering at Burton Constable Hall near Hull for the two-day festival, which includes performances from Katy Perry, Kings Of Leon, Bastille, Lorde, Kasabian and Little Mix. Fifty-thousand music fans are gathering at Burton Constable Hall near Hull for the two-day festival, which includes performances from Katy Perry, Kings Of Leon, Bastille, Lorde, Kasabian and Little Mix.
Ben Cooper, Radio 1’s controller, promised that extra measures would be taken in the wake of Monday’s bombing. He said organisers will be conducting two rounds of thorough searches for those entering the venue, and that dogs will be used. Ben Cooper, Radio 1’s controller, promised that extra measures would be taken in the wake of Monday’s bombing. He said organisers would be conducting two rounds of thorough searches for those entering the venue, and that dogs would be used.
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Helen PiddHelen Pidd
Skiren Khan, 25, lives a few doors down from the property on Buscombe Street in Rusholme which was raided by police this morning. Skiren Khan, 25, lives a few doors down from the property on Boscombe Street in Rusholme which was raided by police this morning.
She said she saw two men being put into a police van around 9am. “It was quite calm, I saw it from my window,” she said. She said she saw two men being put into a police van at about 9am. “It was quite calm. I saw it from my window,” she said.
Sunil Magnani, who runs a corner shop near Buscombe street, said two men were arrested at the terraced house this morning. Sunil Magnani, who runs a corner shop near Boscombe street, said two men were arrested at the terraced house this morning.
“One of my customers told me two guys were taken away, one Arab and one black guy,” said the shopkeeper.“One of my customers told me two guys were taken away, one Arab and one black guy,” said the shopkeeper.
Still no confirmation by police of any arrests. A cordon is in place at both ends of Buscombe Street. There is still no confirmation by police of any arrests. A cordon is in place at both ends of Boscombe Street.
Police guarding house on Buscombe street in Rusholme being searched. Windows papered over. Cordon restored but bomb disposal squad have left pic.twitter.com/Xt11teh6JRPolice guarding house on Buscombe street in Rusholme being searched. Windows papered over. Cordon restored but bomb disposal squad have left pic.twitter.com/Xt11teh6JR
Cordon being lifted at Horton Road/Buscombe street pic.twitter.com/oMhiwMG43ACordon being lifted at Horton Road/Buscombe street pic.twitter.com/oMhiwMG43A
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Vikram DoddVikram Dodd
Vikram Dodd, our crime correspondent, has written some analysis of the government’s decision to downgrade the terrorism threat level.Vikram Dodd, our crime correspondent, has written some analysis of the government’s decision to downgrade the terrorism threat level.
The threat level was raised on Tuesday over fears the network linked to Abedi were at large, with possible access to further explosives and intent on attacking again.The threat level was raised on Tuesday over fears the network linked to Abedi were at large, with possible access to further explosives and intent on attacking again.
The decision to drop the threat level down one grade to “severe” means intelligence analysts were satisfied that risk was now under sufficient control. That came about through the arrest of those suspects they were most concerned about.The decision to drop the threat level down one grade to “severe” means intelligence analysts were satisfied that risk was now under sufficient control. That came about through the arrest of those suspects they were most concerned about.
On Friday, Britain’s top counter terrorism officer, assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, said: “We have already got a large part of the network including some very significant arrests and some significant finds. Clearly, we haven’t covered all the territory we want to but we have covered a large part of it so our confidence has been increasing on recent days. But there’s still more to do to get the degree of confidence we want.”On Friday, Britain’s top counter terrorism officer, assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, said: “We have already got a large part of the network including some very significant arrests and some significant finds. Clearly, we haven’t covered all the territory we want to but we have covered a large part of it so our confidence has been increasing on recent days. But there’s still more to do to get the degree of confidence we want.”
By Saturday morning analysts at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which sets the threat level, were satisfied the danger posed by the network linked to the Manchester bomber had lessened through arrests and also after examination of materials seized after a string on raids starting on Tuesday.By Saturday morning analysts at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which sets the threat level, were satisfied the danger posed by the network linked to the Manchester bomber had lessened through arrests and also after examination of materials seized after a string on raids starting on Tuesday.
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More arrests to come - RowleyMore arrests to come - Rowley
Mark Rowley, the UK’s top counter-terrorism officer, has been explaining the decision to downgrade the threat level from critical to severe.Mark Rowley, the UK’s top counter-terrorism officer, has been explaining the decision to downgrade the threat level from critical to severe.
He said the investigation into the Manchester bombing has given a clearer picture of the network around Salman Abedi, and that a number of figures important to the inquiry had been apprehended.He said the investigation into the Manchester bombing has given a clearer picture of the network around Salman Abedi, and that a number of figures important to the inquiry had been apprehended.
He also said the public could expect to see more raids and more arrests throughout the weekend, in addition to those already carried out in the early hours of this morning.He also said the public could expect to see more raids and more arrests throughout the weekend, in addition to those already carried out in the early hours of this morning.
He echoed Theresa May’s calls for the public to remain vigilante and reiterated that an attack remained highly likely.He echoed Theresa May’s calls for the public to remain vigilante and reiterated that an attack remained highly likely.
1.02pm BST1.02pm BST
13:0213:02
Helen PiddHelen Pidd
Residents of Boscombe Street in Moss Side in southManchester, where the bomb disposal unit attended earlier have been telling of their confusion at the morning’s events.Part of the police cordon has been lifted following the departure of the Royal Logistics Corps. Officers are still guarding a terraced house on Boscombe Street, which has had its windows papered over.Some residents on the small street were evacuated earlier thismorning. Others, including Harriet Cutchie and Christopher Ntiamoah, both 24, were told to stay inside.Cutchie, who manages a sweet shop, said: “it’s really confusing. Our neighbour said she was woken up at 6.30am to shouts of ‘police police police’ and then a bang – probably the door being kicked in. She saw a man being taken out by police.”Several hours after police arrived, bomb disposal experts from the army turned up. They left again around 12.30pm. No explosion, controlled or otherwise, was heard.GMP has not confirmed any arrests at the property, only that a search was taking place.Residents of Boscombe Street in Moss Side in southManchester, where the bomb disposal unit attended earlier have been telling of their confusion at the morning’s events.Part of the police cordon has been lifted following the departure of the Royal Logistics Corps. Officers are still guarding a terraced house on Boscombe Street, which has had its windows papered over.Some residents on the small street were evacuated earlier thismorning. Others, including Harriet Cutchie and Christopher Ntiamoah, both 24, were told to stay inside.Cutchie, who manages a sweet shop, said: “it’s really confusing. Our neighbour said she was woken up at 6.30am to shouts of ‘police police police’ and then a bang – probably the door being kicked in. She saw a man being taken out by police.”Several hours after police arrived, bomb disposal experts from the army turned up. They left again around 12.30pm. No explosion, controlled or otherwise, was heard.GMP has not confirmed any arrests at the property, only that a search was taking place.
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SummarySummary
Here’s a lunchtime roundup of all the events so far today:Here’s a lunchtime roundup of all the events so far today:
Theresa May has said the threat level has been lowered from critical to severe, meaning an attack is now highly likely rather than imminent. The threat level had been raised to its most serious status after the Manchester bombing as police sought to establish whether a network of associates had helped Salman Abedi launch his fatal attack.Theresa May has said the threat level has been lowered from critical to severe, meaning an attack is now highly likely rather than imminent. The threat level had been raised to its most serious status after the Manchester bombing as police sought to establish whether a network of associates had helped Salman Abedi launch his fatal attack.
Operation Temperer, which has seen military personnel deployed at major events around the UK this weekend, is to be wound down. The prime minister said troops would start being withdrawn from key sites from midnight on Monday onwards, in line with the reduced terror threats.Operation Temperer, which has seen military personnel deployed at major events around the UK this weekend, is to be wound down. The prime minister said troops would start being withdrawn from key sites from midnight on Monday onwards, in line with the reduced terror threats.
Police continuing to investigate Abedi’s links in Manchester and beyond have launched fresh raids overnight. Two people were arrested after a controlled explosion was used to gain entry to a house in Cheetham Hill. They were aged 20 and 22 and neighbours appear to have identified them.Police continuing to investigate Abedi’s links in Manchester and beyond have launched fresh raids overnight. Two people were arrested after a controlled explosion was used to gain entry to a house in Cheetham Hill. They were aged 20 and 22 and neighbours appear to have identified them.
Residents around Boscombe Street in Moss Side were evacuated and a bomb disposal team deployed to another raided property. A wide police cordon in the area has now been lifted.Residents around Boscombe Street in Moss Side were evacuated and a bomb disposal team deployed to another raided property. A wide police cordon in the area has now been lifted.
Police now say a “large part” of the Manchester attack network has been detained.Police now say a “large part” of the Manchester attack network has been detained.
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at 1.25pm BSTat 1.25pm BST
11.55am BST11.55am BST
11:5511:55
UK terror threat level loweredUK terror threat level lowered
The threat level has been reduced from critical, which means an attack is imminent, to severe, which means an attack is highly likely, Theresa May has said.The threat level has been reduced from critical, which means an attack is imminent, to severe, which means an attack is highly likely, Theresa May has said.
The UK was moved up to critical on Tuesday. If it had not been lowered it would have been the longest ever spell of critical terror threat in the UK.The UK was moved up to critical on Tuesday. If it had not been lowered it would have been the longest ever spell of critical terror threat in the UK.
However, Operation Temperer, which allows the military to be deployed to key sites, will continue until the end of the bank holiday, the prime minister said. May said:However, Operation Temperer, which allows the military to be deployed to key sites, will continue until the end of the bank holiday, the prime minister said. May said:
A significant amount of police activity has taken place of the last 24 hours and there are now 11 suspects in custody. In light of these developments, JTAC - the joint terrorism analysis centre - has taken the decision to reduce the level from critical to severe. A significant amount of police activity has taken place of the last 24 hours and there are now 11 suspects in custody. In light of these developments, the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre has taken the decision to reduce the level from critical to severe.
The announcement comes after Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said said he wanted to see the threat level reduced as quickly as possible as long as it was safe to do so. The announcement comes after Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said he wanted to see the threat level reduced as quickly as possible as long as it was safe to do so.
Asked if he supported the deployment of armed police, including at the FA Cup Final at Wembley, which he will attend, Corbyn said:Asked if he supported the deployment of armed police, including at the FA Cup Final at Wembley, which he will attend, Corbyn said:
I find it disturbing, everybody finds it disturbing, but we have to make sure we’re safe. I will obviously look into the situation and hope we can reduce the threat level as quickly as possible.I find it disturbing, everybody finds it disturbing, but we have to make sure we’re safe. I will obviously look into the situation and hope we can reduce the threat level as quickly as possible.
We want people to be safe, we want people to enjoy a bank holiday, which is what a bank holiday is for, and we need to be secure and I think there’s a balance to be drawn there. The balance has to be that it’s police who do it, rather than the army, but it’s also about the strength of our communities.We want people to be safe, we want people to enjoy a bank holiday, which is what a bank holiday is for, and we need to be secure and I think there’s a balance to be drawn there. The balance has to be that it’s police who do it, rather than the army, but it’s also about the strength of our communities.
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11.40am BST11.40am BST
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Tweeted pictures from the queues to the buses taking partygoers to Radio 1’s Big Weekend show the enhanced police presence.Tweeted pictures from the queues to the buses taking partygoers to Radio 1’s Big Weekend show the enhanced police presence.
Humberside police said on Tuesday that people preparing to attend the event in Hull should expect stringent security checks. However, if the latter of these tweets is to be believed, some people are facing more intense scrutiny than others.Humberside police said on Tuesday that people preparing to attend the event in Hull should expect stringent security checks. However, if the latter of these tweets is to be believed, some people are facing more intense scrutiny than others.
Waiting for the shuttle bus is loooooong #bigweekend im sad i may miss @TheAmazons 😳😩 pic.twitter.com/CJ43Z2kBdUWaiting for the shuttle bus is loooooong #bigweekend im sad i may miss @TheAmazons 😳😩 pic.twitter.com/CJ43Z2kBdU
We're ready for #bigweekend feeling a bit sorry for the brown person being stalked by the armed policeWe're ready for #bigweekend feeling a bit sorry for the brown person being stalked by the armed police
11.13am BST
11:13
Details emerge of suspects in Cheetham Hill
Josh Halliday
It is believed the two men who were taken away by police in the latest raids were brothers in the same friendship group as the Manchester bomber.
Neighbours identified Yahya and Mohamed Werfalli, aged 20 and 22, as two of the occupants of the house raided by armed police on Saturday morning.
Officers used a controlled explosion to blow open the front door to the family home on a quiet street in Cheetham Hill at around 2am. Neighbours described how their houses shook as about 30 police officers, many armed, stormed the building.
Separate raids also took place in Moss Side, where police are now evacuating residents.
Three neighbours independently identified the Werfalli brothers from pictures. One close neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she saw the brothers being led away by police following the explosion.
“I just heard the bang and I was so scared. I woke about 2 and the bang was about 3. I thought it was another bomb,” she said. “I’ve never been to their house. I’ve been here 13 years and they were here before me. The dad isn’t here, he lives somewhere else. They’re Libyan.”
GMP said on Saturday morning that two men, aged 20 and 22, had been arrested in connection with the search.
Yayha Werfalli, the older brother, is understood to have had a connection on social media with Abedi’s younger brother, Hashim.
Others neighbours said the Werfalli family are Libyan and have lived in the three-floor property for six or seven years.
Majid Khan, 43, who lives opposite the raided property, said the brothers wore traditional Islamic clothing and that their father worked as an engineer in Sharjah, a city on the Persian gulf. He added: “They were very nice people. I’m surprised. I’ve known them about seven or eight years. They were friendly.”
Another neighbour, Aftab Aslam, 30, said he heard one of the arrested men “screaming and and loudly crying” as he was led away by police.“I was up at 2 and just heard a big band. Very loud. Everybody came out on the street and police started shouting: ‘Go inside, go inside!’,” he said. “There were 12-15 police cars, maybe more including undercover. I thought it was something like a car explosion then I came out and cops were everywhere.”
Here is a picture of the leaflet being handed to residents in Cheetham Hill following last nights arrests pic.twitter.com/NEnNGrLeRE
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11:02
Evacuation under way in Moss Side
Helen Pidd
An evacuation in Moss Side is under way as part of an ongoing search linked to the Manchester bombing, Greater Manchester police said.
Bomb disposal van arrived at Boscombe Street in Moss Side. Surrounding streets closed. Neighbour saw man taken away. pic.twitter.com/3hrgubOpa5
Our reporter Helen Pidd is on the scene:
A number of streets in Moss Side have been cordoned off after bomb disposal experts arrived in a big van from the Royal Logistics Corps.
The activity seems to be on Boscombe Street, where a neighbour says they saw at least one person being taken away in the last hour.
The cordon is being widened minute by minute with bit of Yew Tree Road, Thornton Road and Horton Road closed off, plus Boscombe Street.
A police helicopter is circulating overhead.
Van from Royal Logistics Corps bomb disposal unit stationed at end of Boscombe St in Rusholme/Moss Side. Residents evacuated. pic.twitter.com/ChbMUnJ7IH
Greater Manchester police has tweeted this update on developments in Moss Side:
Latest update pic.twitter.com/3QXPonaGqM
Updated
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10.55am BST
10:55
Shortly before leaving the scene of the Moss Side raid, Helen Pidd noticed two more police vans turn up. She has sent this tweet:
Another police van has turned up in the Moss Side cul-de-sac being searched by police. Officers wearing navy jumpsuits have got out of van pic.twitter.com/qnrhwI00lM
10.53am BST
10:53
Jason Burke, the Guardian’s African correspondent, has assessed claims that Libya – the home country of Salman Abedi’s parents – has become a “hotbed” for Islamic extremism. Experts, he writes, say that the situation is far more complicated and warned against exaggerating the strength of jihadi groups in the country.
Isis has been forced out of the two cities on the Mediterranean coast it once controlled and, though it still has a presence in Tripoli and elsewhere, has scattered into shifting desert camps. Its propaganda now rarely mentions Libya, which United Nations experts once mooted as a possible alternative base for the group if it was expelled from its strongholds in Syria and Iraq.
Al-Qaida uses the remote south of Libya as a rear base for planning and logistics but has no territorial control and does not seem to be seeking to expand. Local groups, such as Ansar al-Sharia, are fragmented and weak.
Aaron Zelin, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said: “Libya is relevant but not at the forefront” of Islamic extremist activity across the region.
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10.46am BST
10:46
Those off to see the Courteeners at Manchester’s Old Trafford stadium have been asked not to bring large bags or rucksacks, or indeed “flares, smoke bombs or any kind or pyro”.
Important information ahead of @thecourteeners concert this evening. Pls also check the website for further updates https://t.co/G3xtA43Zhb pic.twitter.com/S104CK6QAP
10.36am BST
10:36
Helen Pidd
Helen Pidd, our north of England editor, has tracked down the house in Moss Side were arrests were made yesterday. She writes:
Five police officers are guarding a terraced house in Dorset Avenue, the cul-de-sac in Moss Side where arrests were made on Friday. Several plain-clothed officers wearing blue plastic gloves have come out of the property in the last few minutes.
Greater Manchester police would not confirm whether this was the property where searches are under way on Saturday, but it looks like it.
Neighbours said there had been officers stationed outside the property for 24 hours but that they didn’t know who lived there.
Searches continue at a terraced house in Moss Side, which was raided yesterday. #ManchesterBombing pic.twitter.com/GGP3T3j9Rv
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10.32am BST
10:32
NYT editor: "No regrets" about publishing bomb scene pictures
The editor-in-chief of the New York Times has said he has “no regrets” about publishing pictures from the scene of the Manchester bombing, after they were leaked to the paper by sources in US intelligence.
Questioned about the disclosures on on the BBC’s HardTalk programme, Dean Baquet brushed aside criticism from the UK’s National Police Chiefs’ Council, which said they undermined the investigation into the attack. “We live in different press worlds,” he said.
When our police say that, we say: prove it. They didn’t prove it: I don’t buy it. I don’t buy that this hurt their investigation. We have thoughtfully, carefully published information that we publish after every terror in the world - and we should.
Baquet pointed out that his paper published similar pictures after terror attacks in the US, including the 11 September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Boston marathon bombing on 15 April 2013. He also said that the distribution of the Manchester pictures among US agencies was not restricted to the most secret level.
“It was at the level of secrecy that made it much more widely dispersed than people are acknowledging,” he said.
Updated
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9.40am BST
09:40
Josh Halliday
Our reporter Josh Halliday has captured this video of an interview with a neighbour of the house in Cheetham Hill that was raided last night.
Aftab Aslam, 30, describes moment police blew open a neighbour's door in counter-terrorism dawn raid in Cheetham Hill pic.twitter.com/LLutAEE0zA
Describing the scenes, Aftab Aslam said:
Police were just screaming, shouting at everyone: ‘Go inside, go inside; nobody [is] allowed to come out and nobody [is] allowed to be filming.’ So everybody was just watching from the windows.
Updated
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9.31am BST
09:31
Here’s some more news on the events that are – and are not – going on this weekend, thanks to PA.
Going ahead on Sunday:
Great Manchester Run. Thousands of defiant runners and spectators are expected to turn out for the 10k race. Participants should have received direct instructions from organisers by email.
Vitality Westminster Mile, London. Organisers said they are working closely with the Metropolitan police, the mayor’s office and other authorities on additional security measures for runners and spectators on the Mall.
Radio 1’s Big Weekend day two, Hull. Concert-goers should expect the same security measures as were in place on Saturday.
Not going ahead on Sunday:
FA Cup victory parades: Both Arsenal and Chelsea have said the victors will not stage street parades on Sunday to avoid placing additional pressure on the police.
Updated
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9.18am BST
09:18
One of Barack Obama’s top aides has said that the former US president expected more investment from David Cameron and other European leaders to rebuild Libya after the US and allies helped to overthrow Muammar Gaddafi.
Ben Rhodes, a former foreign policy adviser at the White House, said that Obama’s expectation was that “there would have been a greater investment in the security force building from Europe”.
Salman Abedi, the suicide bomber who killed 22 concertgoers in Manchester on Monday, was the son of Libyan emigres who had left the country because of their opposition to Gaddafi’s government. Arrests since then by police trying to capture the suspected terror network that supported him have largely focused on Manchester’s Libyan community.
Rhodes told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday morning:
I think we’re sympathetic to the challenges of doing that in a country that is not hospitable to foreigners coming in and providing that type of capacity building.
I think, looking back, the window closed faster than people thought.
I think people thought there was going to be a longer timeline to build up institutions in Libya, and, frankly, within about a year following when Cameron and (then French president Nicolas) Sarkozy travelled to Libya, within a year essentially it was going to be impossible to put things back together.
Rhodes also said the transitional Libyan government “lost control of violence in the country”. He said
When I look back on that I think we all believe we should have done better. What began as a humanitarian intervention led to the removal of Gaddafi, and then there was just an enormous vacuum and nothing filled that vacuum except for the militias on the ground.
Updated
at 9.20am BST