UK: Two universities evacuated over suspicious package

Monitoring Desk

LONDON: In the second such incident at a U.K. university on Wednesday, British police have cordoned off and evacuated parts of the University of Essex after a suspicious package was found.

The incident came after police in Scotland evacuated the University of Glasgow when a similar package was discovered in a mailing room.

“As a precaution we have put a 100 m cordon in place and we have evacuated a section of the university and nearby buildings,” a statement from the Essex Police said. The police also said they were awaiting the arrival of a Defense Ministry bomb squad at the campus, located in Colchester, southeast England.

Earlier on Wednesday, the University of Glasgow was evacuated after a suspicious package was found.

“Under advice from Police Scotland, a number of buildings on the main university campus have been evacuated as a precautionary measure after a suspicious package was found in the university’s mailroom,” the university said on Twitter.

The university later said the evacuated buildings would remain closed for the rest of the day, with classes in these buildings cancelled.

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

On Tuesday, three small improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were found by British police in busy transport hubs in London. The police said A4-sized packages found in Waterloo Station and the Heathrow and City airports did not injure anyone but had the potential to start fires.

The police launched an investigation into the IEDs, saying it was working with Irish security services as two of the packages bore Irish postal stamps. (AA)