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10th May 2016
08:18am BST
Following recent attacks on Paris and Belgium, the UK is on high alert. We must prepare for every eventuality, and that means training sessions that are as real as possible. It's the only way that the relevant agencies can properly test their responses.
In the early hours of Tuesday morning, the Trafford Centre was witness to one of the most realistic anti-terror training exercises conducted on these shores, with over 800 volunteers acting as innocent shoppers, and emergency services rushing to the scene.
https://twitter.com/TheJackSullivan/status/729828561444605952
Although it was all fake, the pictures and footage are jarringly real. There was a real explosion, dozens of officers from Manchester and Merseyside police racing to the scene, the NW Counter Terrorism Unit placing the area in lockdown, and even mocked up casualties.
The precise details of the scenario were kept from the acting shoppers and emergency services to see how they would react, and Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe confirmed: "This exercise is part of a national programme that has been planned extensively for five months."
https://twitter.com/Lerounxi/status/729827869275361281
She also stressed the exercise was purely preemptive and wasn't indicative of the Trafford Centre being a specific target: "I want to make it clear that this is not linked to any specific terror threat or attack, but is an opportunity for us to make sure we are in the best position possible, should a terrorist attack happen in the North West."
https://twitter.com/WishFmOfficial/status/729916740919042048A fake bomb attack at the Trafford Centre in a major counter-terrorism training exercisehttps://t.co/FOTfivewoF pic.twitter.com/SPIWWfHX1b
— BBC Radio Manchester (@bbcradiomanc) May 10, 2016
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