Greater Manchester Police & Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd said that the evacuation of Old Trafford because of a dummy bomb "left behind after a training exercise" was a "fiasco," according to Andrew Bounds of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Lloyd "called for an urgent inquiry" into how Sunday's "unacceptable" incident happened. The device was used in a training exercise for sniffer dogs "in the week before the game" between ManU and Bournemouth, but was "not collected by the private company in charge of the drill." ManU faces an estimated £3M ($4.3M) bill "after offering to compensate those who had tickets and cannot make the rearranged fixture on Tuesday evening." About 75,000 people were at the fixture "in what was to have been the last round" of the EPL season when it was "abandoned just after the scheduled kick-off." The device, found in a toilet, was destroyed in a "controlled explosion" (FT, 5/16).
'MASSIVE INCONVENIENCE': ESPN reported the item was described as an "incredibly lifelike explosive device." Lloyd: "This fiasco caused massive inconvenience to supporters who had come from far and wide to watch the match, wasted the time of huge numbers of police officers and the army's bomb squad, and unnecessarily put people in danger, as evacuating tens of thousands of people from a football stadium is not without risk." Lloyd's comments on the police and stewards were echoed by John O'Connor, a former detective with the Metropolitan Police who headed up the Flying Squad at New Scotland Yard (ESPN, 5/16). The BBC reported the Premier League "praised the way the incident was dealt with." A statement said, "We would like to thank Manchester United's staff, the police and other emergency services for all their efforts today as well as rearranging the match for this coming Tuesday." ManU will "refund all tickets and allow ticket holders from both clubs to watch Tuesday's re-arranged game for free," while ManU season ticket holders "will also be given a credit." Bournemouth "is offering free coach travel" to the rescheduled match for fans. ManU Exec Vice-Chair Ed Woodward: "The club takes security very seriously and staff are regularly trained with the police and emergency services to identify and deal with these incidents. We will investigate the incident to inform future actions and decisions" (BBC, 5/16).
SSMS OWNER WORKED OLYMPICS: In London, Ben Rumsby reported the owner of the security firm being blamed for the "bomb scare blunder" worked on the London Olympics and last year’s Rugby World Cup. Chris Reid, a former counter terrorism adviser for the Metropolitan Police, also has an "ongoing" relationship with the Rugby Football Union. The 62-year-old, of Biggin Hill, Kent, is the owner of Security Search Management & Solutions Ltd., which was "allegedly involved in the training exercise at Old Trafford last week that left behind a fake bomb." Reid "did not deny his firm was involved in last week’s Old Trafford training exercise" when contacted but said that he is "waiting to hear" from ManU before commenting (TELEGRAPH, 5/16). In London, Pidd, Taylor, Perraudin & Khomami reported Reid said he took “full responsibility” for not removing the dummy bomb after the training exercise. Reid said he was “absolutely gutted,” and that the mistake "was entirely his." Reid: “I am absolutely devastated that a lapse in my working protocols has resulted in many people being disappointed, frightened and inconvenienced. Nothing I can say will rectify that." The alert at Old Trafford "came just days after" Home Secretary Theresa May announced that MI5 had "raised the threat level to Britain from Northern Ireland-related terrorism from moderate to substantial -- the third most serious category out of five." May said on Wednesday that the move "reflects the continuing threat from dissident republican activity." The threat level to the U.K. from int'l terrorism "remains at severe -- meaning an attack is highly likely" (GUARDIAN, 5/16). In London, Simon Rice reported Tuesday's match will be shown live on Sky Sports. With a draw ManU can move up to fifth "whilst a virtually impossible win by 19 goals" would see the club finish fourth (INDEPENDENT, 5/16).
CLUB MAY SEVER TIES: In London, Paul Hirst reported ManU is "considering severing ties with the two companies who are understood to have been used in the botched training exercise." The device, which comprised of a mobile phone attached to a pipe, "was initially thought to be a real bomb, but it has since emerged that it was a dummy left there following a training exercise for sniffer dogs." SSMS was hired for the drill, organized by the club’s usual dog trainers, Deacons Canines. For "reasons yet unknown, the dummy was left in the toilet after the exercise for four days" and was only discovered on Sunday just before kickoff (LONDON TIMES, 5/16).
