Police evacuate Birmingham

2005-07-09 22:45

Birmingham - Police ordered the evacuation of the entertainment district in central Birmingham late on Saturday because of intelligence suggesting a security threat.

Police initially restricted road traffic into the city centre, but then ordered an evacuation after receiving further intelligence, a police spokesperson said on condition of anonymity.

She estimated there were nearly 200 bars and clubs in the Broad Street entertainment district.

Birmingham, 175 kilometres northwest of London, was the target of one of the worst Irish Republican Army bombings of the 1970s.

Twenty-one people died when the IRA bombed two pubs on November 21, 1974.

A senior police officer said earlier on Saturday that another terrorist attack in Britain is still possible.

"It is perfectly possible, given the attacks of Thursday, that terrorists could strike again," Andy Trotter, the deputy chief constable of British Transport Police, told reporters.

"We know we've had successes in defeating criminals, we know we've had success in preventing terrorist attacks on London, but this time they got through," he said.

Trotter vowed to work to keep the British capital's transport network safe but he said airport-style security would never be introduced.

- AP