No group has claimed responsibility for a bomb threat which paralysed parts of central London yesterday, but it is beleived it came from republican extremists outraged by today’s historic visit by the Queen to the Republic of Ireland.
As Ireland prepared for the Queen’s arrival today, a makesshift bomb was found on a bus heading for Dublin. Irish army bomb disposal officers difused the device, spotted in County Kildare, and it was confirmed that the royal visit, the first by a British monarch since Ireland gained independence in 1921, will go ahead as planned.
Yesterday areas around the Mall, Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square in central London were cordoned off after police received a bomb threat which did not specify a place or time.
A controlled explosion was carried out yesterday morning after a suitcase was found abandoned outside a hotel in the area.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said: "A bomb threat warning has been received relating to central London. The threat is not specific in relation to location or time."
Police checked the sewers in the area after discovering a manhole cover had been tampered with.
All officers across the capital have been urged to be “highly vigilant” whilst Londoners were told to look out for “unusual activity or behaviour”.
by Dinah Hatch
