Mayor's view on reduction of terrorist threat level

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Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester

Speaking following the news that the terrorist threat level has been reduced from critical to severe, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “This reduction in the threat level is the result of the outstanding work of the Greater Manchester Police, the North West Counter Terrorism Unit and the security services since Monday’s attack.

"They have made excellent progress with this investigation and, on behalf of the people of Greater Manchester, I would like to thank them for the incredible service they have given. We will all continue to support them in whatever way we can as the investigation continues.

“I hope that the people of Greater Manchester will gain reassurance from this change. However, the threat level remains severe and there will still be significant numbers of armed police on our streets. I would ask people to remain vigilant and to co-operate fully with police and security staff as they carry out the necessary extra checks at events over the Bank Holiday weekend.

"Over recent days, the people of Greater Manchester have shown great resilience. While we are a city in mourning, and while we continue to think of the families who lost loved-ones and those suffering from injuries, I hope that people will come together at the various events planned over the weekend to show that we won't be beaten by this and that we will continue to stand together.

“So, while I hope today's news will give people more confidence to get out and enjoy the weekend, I would ask them to remain vigilant and report anything suspicious, no matter how minor, to the police or by calling the anti-terrorist hotline on 0800 789 321.”

Following the attack at the Manchester Arena, the terrorist threat level was raised to critical – the highest level, which means an attack is expected imminently. This has now been reduced to severe, which means that an attack is highly likely. All of the threat levels are explained at:

https://www.gov.uk/terrorism-national-emergency