'No evidence' to suggest Manchester Airport incident related to terrorism

Manchester Airport

There is 'no evidence' to suggest that Monday's (23 September) incident at Manchester Airport is related to terrorism, police have confirmed and all transport links have reopened.

• www.rochdaleonline.co.uk/news-features/2/news-headlines/130354/transport-suspended-to-and-from-manchester-airport-as-suspicious-package-found

Shortly before 7.05am police responded to reports of a man behaving erratically close to the transport interchange.

The man was detained by officers and has since been taken to hospital for assessment.

Whilst at the scene, a suspicious bag was found and a controlled explosion was carried out as a precaution.

Following an assessment by bomb disposal officers, it was confirmed that the bag did not contain a viable device.

Chief Inspector Andy Sutcliffe, of GMP’s Manchester Airport team, said: “I appreciate that reports of today’s incident may have caused some concern but I can confirm that the matter has now been safely resolved and the area is returning to normal.

“Public safety is our top priority so a controlled explosion of a bag was carried out as a precaution before an inspection of the contents confirmed that there was no viable device or components inside.

“I want to stress that there is no evidence to suggest that this incident was terrorism related and I want to thank members of the public for their patience and support as we responded.”