UK police link suspect package to London explosives

British police said a suspect package found in Glasgow on Wednesday is likely linked to three small explosive devices discovered in London the previous day. “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,” Commander Clarke Jarrett from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command said in a statement.

“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 who may be responsible and any possible motivation.” Police Scotland earlier carried out a controlled explosion on the package received at the University of Glasgow and said there was no ongoing risk to the public. “The package was not opened and no one was injured,” it said.

“The emergency services were alerted and several buildings within the estate were evacuated as a precaution.” Three “small improvised explosive devices” believed capable of starting small fires were found in separate locations in London on Tuesday. Irish police later said they were “assisting the Metropolitan Police with their enquiries”, as Sky News reported that the packages had Irish stamps on them.

Tuesday’s suspicious packages were found at an office block next to Heathrow Airport, the post room at Waterloo station, and at offices near London City Airport in the east of the capital. The item sent to the Compass Centre, close to Heathrow ’s north runway, was opened by staff resulting in “part of the package burning” but no one was injured.