The UK has totalled five significant bomb scares this week, with separate incidents occurring in just 96 hours.
A loud explosion heard near Euston station yesterday was the latest in a string of incidents across the UK which also included scares at the US Embassy, Gatwick Airport, Chester rail and bus stations, and Glasgow bus station.
Passengers travelling through Euston – which is one of London’s busiest – were evacuated on Saturday afternoon while the Met Police carried out a ‘controlled explosion’ just after 12.40pm.
Thousands of travellers saw disruption at 8.20am on Friday morning, November 22, after a bomb scare at Gatwick airport.
Passengers filled the area around the South Terminal as the Sussex Police bomb disposal squad investigated a ‘suspected prohibited item in luggage’, which they then ‘made the package safe’, police said.
The two people who were briefly during the investigation were allowed to continue with their journeys.
On Wednesday, Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus station was evacuated at around 1pm. Police Scotland carried out a ‘controlled explosion’ that had been treated as a ‘credible threat’, My London reports.
Students and staff at Glasgow Caledonian University, just a five-minute walk from the bus stop, were told to evacuate as a ‘precaution’.
Police confirmed that three men had been arrested in connection to the incident, over possession of offensive weapon, but have since been released without charge.
No link has been established between any of the incidents.
However, an expert from the University of Buckingham said the events in London were likely to down to a ‘sicko mocking security authorities’, GB News reports.
‘It looks to me as if some kind of sicko is on the loose somewhere,’ Professor Anthony Glees told the broadcaster.
‘This is probably somebody who lives near Gatwick and goes in and out of London. It’s most likely a crackpot that’s having fun doing these things,’ he suggested.
‘My thought would be that there’s a psycho on the loose with a grudge, and they are intent on mocking our security authorities.’
He urged the British public not to worry, concluding that it was ‘more a case for Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson than it is for the counter terrorist police.’
Later on Friday morning, the US embassy in Nine Elms, London, was put into lockdown over a ‘security alert’.
Armed police and fire services were pictured outside of the building, with the Metropolitan Police saying in a statement: ‘We’re aware of speculation online about an incident in the vicinity of the US Embassy in Nine Elms.
‘Cordons are in place in the area as a precaution while officers investigate a suspect package. We will provide a further update in due course.’
A witness cited a ‘loud bang’ which he claims police confirmed was ‘genuine’, but Scotland Yard said in a statement: ‘Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow.’
On Friday evening, another controlled explosion was carried out in Chester city centre, near Liverpool.
The railway station and the nearby bus interchange in Newton were evacuated at around 6pm as a police cordon was placed.
Witnesses reported a ‘very loud bang’, BBC News said.
A spokesperson for Cheshire Police later said ‘all was in order’.
The incident at Euston station yesterday was the fifth controlled explosion at major transport hubs in just a few days, with people speculating on social media whether the events are linked.
As of Sunday, there has been no comment from police, the Government, or security services.
In a statement provided to Metro, the Metropolitan police said they are ‘not treating Euston or the US Embassy as linked at this time.’