UK police link London, Glasgow IED probes

LONDON

British counter-terrorism investigators said they have linked three small improvised explosive devices (IEDs) received at addresses in London on March 5 with a similar device found Wednesday at the University of Glasgow.

Teams from London and Scottish police forces are now working closely to share any information or intelligence that could assist their respective inquiries, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.

"Due to similarities in the package, its markings and the type of device that was recovered in Glasgow, we are treating it as being linked to the three packages we're investigating in London,” said Commander Clarke Jarrett from the Met's counter-terrorism command.

“We are working very closely with our colleagues from Police Scotland, and both investigations are being run in tandem,” he said.

"We continue to pursue a number of lines of enquiry, and one such line is the possibility that the packages have come from Ireland. However, we are still keeping an open mind with regards to who may be responsible and any possible motivation.”

Police in Scotland evacuated the University of Glasgow on Wednesday when a package was discovered in a mail room. Specialist officers from the force subsequently carried out a controlled explosion of the device.

Scottish police said they also examined another suspicious package found at the Royal Bank of Scotland’s headquarters in the capital Edinburgh, which was later ruled out as suspicious.

On Tuesday, three small IEDs were found by British police in busy transport hubs in London.

The police said A4-sized packages found at Waterloo Station and Heathrow and City airports did not injure anyone but had the potential to start fires.

Also on Wednesday, Essex Police said they cordoned off and evacuated parts of the University of Essex after a suspicious package was found.

“Following an investigation, we have established that the package posed no risk to the public,” they said in a statement.

The Met Police said they have issued extensive advice to transport hubs and mail sorting companies to be vigilant for and report suspicious packages.

The terror threat in the UK is "severe", meaning an attack is "highly likely," according to security officials.