Armed police will descend on one of Britain’s biggest shopping centres as they test their response to a Paris-type terrorist attack.



Officers from the North West Counter Terrorism Unit armed with machine guns will practice their tactics in a major exercise at the intu Trafford Centre near Manchester, which starts at midnight tonight.

Police chiefs say the three-day multi-agency exercise is not linked to any specific terror threat or attack, but will ensure they are in the “best position” should such an attack happen in the region.

“Our priority is to stop terrorists from planning and orchestrating attacks and with exercises like this, we can put our response to the test in a safe environment, so we are fully prepared for a time when it may be critical.”

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe

Around 800 people will be involved in the role-play exercise, codenamed Exercise Winchester Accord, including volunteers and fire and ambulance service personnel, with police wanting to make the “attack” as realistic as possible.

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe, from Greater Manchester Police, said: “This exercise is part of a national programme that has been planned extensively for five months.

“We have worked closely with intu Trafford Centre and other emergency services to test our response to a major terrorist incident in a public place, which for part of this exercise is a shopping centre.

“Our priority is to stop terrorists from planning and orchestrating attacks and with exercises like this, we can put our response to the test in a safe environment, so we are fully prepared for a time when it may be critical.”

The intu Trafford Centre is Britain’s second biggest shopping complex after the intu Metrocentre in Gateshead and has more than 35 million visitors each year.

The exercise will take place while the centre is closed to the public from midnight until 6am. It will continue over the next two days at locations in the North West including Redbank Community Home, a disused young offenders’ centre, in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, on Wednesday.

Exact details of the exercise have not been made public and are known only to a few senior officers, who will direct different scenarios such as possible hostage taking, mass casualties or suicide bombers, to test how the emergency services respond to “fluid” and developing situations.

“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.”

Assistant Chief Constable Rebekah Sutcliffe

Residents living near the centre have been told they may hear loud noises and see emergency vehicles arriving during the exercise.

They are being urged to contact police if they have concerns or if they witness anything and are unsure if it is part of the exercise.

The current UK terror threat level is severe, meaning an attack is highly likely. The exercise is the fourth major exercise in months, coming after previous ones in London, Glasgow and Essex.

ACC Sutcliffe added: “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.

“This exercise has allowed us to build and strengthen our relationship with intu Trafford Centre and I would like to thank them for allowing all the participants to use their centre. Their support in the planning of this exercise demonstrates their commitment to test their response to a major incident and protect their staff and customers.”

Richard Paxton, general manager of intu Trafford Centre said: “The police and emergency services do an extremely important job keeping the public safe. This training, planning and preparation to deal with all eventualities is essential and we had no hesitation allowing them to use our facilities for their exercise while the centre was closed.”

Any suspicious activity or behaviour can be reported to police via the confidential Anti-Terrorist Hotline by calling 0800 789 321. Extremist or terrorist content online can be reported at http://www.gov.uk/report-terrorism.