National Counter Terrorism Security Office: ‘Run and hide rather than play dead during attack’

Victims of a Paris-style gun and bomb attack should run or hide rather than lie down, according to new official guidance.

The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (Nactso) published the advice in the wake of the terrorist atrocities in the French capital which killed 129 people.

The document outlines what to do in “response to a fast moving incident such as a firearms or weapons attack” and also advises businesses to develop procedures for what NaCTSO called a “dynamic lockdown”.

It follows evidence from victims of the assault on the Bataclan music hall, where gunmen burst in and fired on the crowd.

Several survivors have told how they dropped to the floor and remained still as the massacre claimed the lives of 89 music fans and injured 100 more.

But Nactso guidance said those caught up in such an attack should “escape if you can”, “insist others leave with you” and “leave belongings behind”.

In the event that escape routes are cut off, then officials advise finding cover from the gunfire behind “substantial brickwork or heavy reinforced walls” as “cover from view does not mean you are safe, bullets go through glass, brick, wood and metal”.

After finding a hiding place, victims should “be quiet, silence your phone” and barricade themselves in before phoning 999 and reporting the location, details about the suspects and whether there are any hostages and casualties.

The guidance also suggests companies train staff in how to lockdown buildings and react to an attack.

“Dynamic lockdown is the ability to quickly restrict access and egress to a site or building (or part of) through physical measures in response to a threat, either external or internal.”

Alarms, internal messages or a PA system could be used to inform workers of a terrorist assault and firms should hold regular drills.

The Metropolitan Police has already boosted numbers of vehicles on patrol by a third for the armed response unit in the wake of the attacks.

Counter-terror chiefs are understood to be using extra covert teams in unmarked cars in addition to the military-style Jankel vans, seen at Wembley on Tuesday for the first time since the 2011 riots.