Police chief defends Birmingham evacuation

Birmingham’s police chief today defended his decision to evacuate some 20,000 people from the city centre last night, insisting there had been a “real and significant” threat to lives.

At a press conference at West Midlands Police headquarters, the Force’s Chief Constable Paul Scott-Lee admitted the packages were neither bombs nor hoax explosive devices, but stressed information received by officers had been significant enough to warrant the evacuation.