08:22

Skiren Khan, 25, lives a few doors down from the property on Boscombe Street in Rusholme which was raided by police this morning.



She said she saw two men being put into a police van at about 9am. “It was quite calm. I saw it from my window,” she said.



Sunil Magnani, who runs a corner shop near Boscombe street, said two men were arrested at the terraced house this morning.

“One of my customers told me two guys were taken away, one Arab and one black guy,” said the shopkeeper.

There is still no confirmation by police of any arrests. A cordon is in place at both ends of Boscombe Street.

Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) Police guarding house on Buscombe street in Rusholme being searched. Windows papered over. Cordon restored but bomb disposal squad have left pic.twitter.com/Xt11teh6JR</s>Britain’s threat level has been downgraded to ‘severe’, Theresa May has said.

The terror threat level has been reduced as fresh arrests and raids have been carried out linked to the Manchester suicide bombing.

Troops will be gradually withdrawn from the streets from Monday onwards, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, Prime Minister Theresa May said.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) increased the terror threat level to “critical” - its highest level - meaning a further terror attack was considered “imminent”.

Troops on streets as UK terror threat level raised to ‘critical’

It has now been reduced to “severe”, meaning an attack is “highly likely”.

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, Mrs May said the decision had been taken after “a significant amount of police activity” over the last 24 hours.

She said: “The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.”

The massacre at the Manchester Arena carried out by Salman Abedi, in which 22 people were killed, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

The terror threat had been at critical for the first time in a decade.

Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.

She said: “To provide maximum reassurance to the public Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.

“Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties.”

The de-escalation came as a street in Manchester’s Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terror officers.

Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning, with one witness describing a bomb-disposal van parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.

An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Abedi.

Yamma Wu, 29, said she had been ordered not to leave her house by officers.

“I can see police cars outside the street and they are not allowing people out or in and there is an evacuation in this area, but because I have got a little baby with me they told me I could say inside, but I could not go out,” she told the media.</s>The terror threat level has been reduced as fresh arrests and raids have been carried out linked to the Manchester suicide bombing.

Troops will be gradually withdrawn from Britain's streets from Monday onwards, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, Prime Minister Theresa May said.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) increased the terror threat level to "critical" - its highest level - meaning a further terror attack was considered "imminent".

It has now been reduced to "severe", meaning an attack is "highly likely".

Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, Mrs May said the decision had been taken after "a significant amount of police activity" over the last 24 hours.

She said: "The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant."

The massacre at the Manchester Arena carried out by Salman Abedi, in which 22 people were killed, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

The terror threat had been at critical for the first time in a decade.

Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.

She said: "To provide maximum reassurance to the public Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.

"Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties."</s>The terror threat level has been reduced as fresh arrests and raids have been carried out linked to the Manchester suicide bombing.

Troops will be gradually withdrawn from the streets from Monday onwards, having been drafted in to bolster police numbers, Prime Minister Theresa May said.

The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) increased the terror threat level to “critical” - its highest level - meaning a further terror attack was considered “imminent”.

It has now been reduced to ‘severe’, meaning an attack is “highly likely”.

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee, Mrs May said the decision had been taken after ‘a significant amount of police activity’ over the last 24 hours.

She said: “The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.”

The massacre at the Manchester Arena carried out by Salman Abedi, in which 22 people were killed, was the worst terrorist atrocity to hit Britain since the July 7 attacks in London in 2005.

The terror threat had been at critical for the first time in a decade.

Mrs May also said Operation Temperer, allowing the military to be deployed to protect key sites, will be rolled back after the Bank Holiday.

She said: “To provide maximum reassurance to the public, Operation Temperer will continue to operate until the Bank Holiday concludes.

“Then from midnight on Monday onwards there will be a well planned and gradual withdrawal of members of the armed forces who will return to normal duties.”

The de-escalation came as a street in Manchester’s Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terror officers.

Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning, with one witness describing a bomb-disposal van parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.

An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Abedi.

Yamma Wu, 29, said she had been ordered not to leave her house by officers.

“I can see police cars outside the street and they are not allowing people out or in and there is an evacuation in this area, but because I have got a little baby with me they told me I could say inside, but I could not go out,” she told the Press Association.

An example of the anxiety and high alert felt by people was seen in Durham, where a city centre street was cordoned off and evacuated after a car was illegally parked and thought to be suspicious.

Manchester’s Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: “The change in the national threat level from critical to severe does not alter our response to Monday’s horrific attack, which claimed so many innocent lives.

“We have made significant progress in this fast-moving and complex investigation, working with the national counter terrorism policing network and UK intelligence partners and securing the arrests of 11 people who remain in custody.

“The level of resources we have available to us remains the same as we continue to take positive action so you will notice additional officers, including armed officers, on patrol especially at a number of events this weekend to ensure the security and safety of everyone but it’s important that people remain alert and vigilant.

“You can report any suspicious activity to police on the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 or by calling 999.”</s>London- British Prime Minister Theresa May announced Saturday that Britain had reduced its terror threat level from critical to severe, having raised it after Monday`s Manchester bombing.

"A significant amount of police action has taken place over the last 24 hours and there are now 11 suspects in custody," May said in a statement.

"In the light of the developments, the independent joint terrorism analysis centre has this morning taken the decision to reduce the threat level from critical to severe."</s>The UK's terror threat level has been reduced from "critical" to "severe", Theresa May has said.

It means that an attack is now "highly likely" instead of expected "imminently".

On Tuesday the Prime Minister put the terror threat level up to critical in the wake of the Manchester Arena bombing on Monday night.

But today Mrs May said armed soldiers will be withdrawn from the streets at midnight on Monday.

Operation Temperer, which allows the military to be deployed to key sites, will continue until the end of the bank holiday, the Prime Minister said.

Speaking after a meeting of the government's Cobra emergency committee, she said the decision had been taken after "a significant amount of police activity" over the last 24 hours.

She said: "The public should be clear about what this means - a threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The country should remain vigilant."

It comes as Met Police chief Mark Rowley insisted the terror cell behind murderous Salman Abedi ’s attack has been smashed.

He urged Brits to enjoy the bank holiday weekend, as officers continue to look into how the warped maniac ended up killing 22 people, including seven children at a gig on Monday.

Hospitals were still on high alert after the threat level was raised to critical, armed police are also ­patrolling trains and even beaches.

Bank Holiday weather: Britain to roast in soaring temperatures before thunderstorms on Monday

Officers reviewed security at more than 1,300 events this weekend. But Assistant Commissioner Mr Rowley said police had snared a “large part of the network” that supported Abedi, 22.

He added: “Enjoy yourselves. We can’t let the terrorists win by dissuading us from going about our normal business.

“There will be extra officers on duty, and that will include hundreds of armed officers. Extra firearms officers have been out on streets because we have backfilled guarding posts at key places with ­military personnel. Their ­presence at these sites will continue throughout the weekend.”

On smashing the terror cell, he added: “We are very happy we’ve got our hands around some of the key players that we are concerned about.

“There still remain important lines of inquiry for us to pursue. We’ve got to understand everything about the terrorist, his associates, the whole network and how they acquired and built the bomb.

“We have made enormous progress but there are still some really ­important lines of inquiry to follow through.”

Security minister Ben Wallace said there is no specific threat against an individual event at the moment.

But additional armed officers will be at events such as this evening’s FA Cup Final at Wembley between Chelsea and Arsenal.</s>The terror threat level in the UK has been reduced from critical to severe and soldiers deployed to key sites around the country will begin to be withdrawn from Monday, Theresa May has said.

The prime minister said Operation Temperer, in which military personnel were deployed to bolster security in the wake of the Manchester bombing, would be scaled back after the bank holiday weekend.

Security officials had advised the government to raise the terror threat to critical, which means they believe an attack is imminent, after a suicide bomber killed 22 people, including children, at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester on Monday.

Additional resources were deployed to help with the investigation into the attack and provide greater security at a host of weekend events. It is normal for a critical terror threat level to be maintained for just a few days.

May said: “The public should be clear about what this means. A threat level of severe means an attack remains highly likely. The country should remain vigilant.”

Speaking after a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee on Saturday, she said the decision had been taken after “a significant amount of police activity” over the last 24 hours.

The Manchester bombing was the worst terror attack to hit Britain since the 7 July attacks in London in 2005.

On Saturday a street in Manchester’s Moss Side was evacuated by counter-terrorism officers and controlled explosives were used in a raid on a property in Cheetham Hill.

Boscombe Street was said to been cleared on Saturday morning. A witness said a bomb-disposal van was parked at the junction with Yew Tree Road.

An address in the area was being searched by detectives as they sought to close the net on the suspected terror cell behind Manchester Arena suicide bomber Salman Abedi.

Two men aged 20 and 22 were arrested in the early hours of Saturday morning at the Cheetham Hill address, police said. Neighbours identified Yahya and Mohamed Werfalli, aged 20 and 22, as two of the occupants of the raided house. They were said to be of Libyan descent and part of the same friendship groups as the Manchester bomber.

Police have not confirmed the identities of any of those arrested in connection with the investigation. Eleven people remain in custody.

On Saturday afternoon Britain’s top counter-terrorism officer, assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, said officers had carried out 17 searches, mostly in the north-west.

He told reporters: “We are getting a greater understanding of the preparation of the bomb. There is still much more to do. There will be more arrests.

“There will be more searches but the greater clarity and progress has led JTAC, the independent body which assesses threat, to the judgment that an attack is no longer imminent.”

The threat level was raised on Tuesday over fears the network linked to Abedi was at large, possibly with access to further explosives and intent on attacking again.

The decision to drop the threat level down one grade to severe means intelligence analysts are satisfied that risk is now under sufficient control.

On Friday, Rowley said: “We have already got a large part of the network including some very significant arrests and some significant finds. Clearly, we haven’t covered all the territory we want to but we have covered a large part of it so our confidence has been increasing on recent days. But there’s still more to do to get the degree of confidence we want.”

By Saturday morning analysts at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, which sets the threat level, were satisfied the danger posed by the network linked to the Manchester bomber had lessened through arrests and also after examination of materials seized after a string on raids starting on Tuesday.

There is still concern among counter-terrorism officials about the network linked to Abedi, the Guardian understands, but JTAC believes this is insufficient to state an attack may be imminent.

Although the threat level has been scaled back, Rowley said there would still be a heightened security presence at events over the bank holiday weekend.

In a statement on Saturday afternoon he said: “For practical reasons and precautionary reasons, we made the decision that the resources that we had planned for this weekends events will continue. They will still see that high level of policing presence – some armed, some unarmed.”

But he added that after the bank holiday the range of additional resources deployed in the wake of the Manchester attack would be stepped down. He added that the military support would also be “phased out” in the coming days.

The threat level of severe means an attack is highly likely. The two months since 22 March, when five people including the attacker died in an attack on Westminster, have seen a particularly high level of activity by terrorists.



A total of seven attack plots are publicly known about, with two causing casualties, in Westminster and Manchester. Five more were disrupted and arrests made; four in London and one in Birmingham.

The investigation into the Manchester attack continues and is being carried out by counter-terrorism officers and the domestic security service MI5.</s>(MANCHESTER) — British Prime Minister Theresa May says the country's threat level from terrorism had been reduced from its top level of "critical," which indicates an attack is imminent.

May says it now stands at "severe," meaning an attack is highly likely.

The level was raised to critical after Monday's bomb attack in Manchester, which killed 22 people.

May says major progress has been made in the investigation but that people should remain vigilant.</s>The UK terror threat level has been reduced from critical, back to severe, the Prime Minister announced on Saturday.

The level was increased following Monday’s Manchester Arena bombing which resulted in 22 deaths, due to fears another attack was imminent.

Operation Temperer, which allows the military to be deployed to key sites, will continue until the end of the bank holiday, Theresa May said.

Eleven people are now being held in connection with the bombing which happened at the end of a concert by Ariana Grande.

The development came as a vast security operation began to protect hundreds of Spring Bank Holiday events across Britain this weekend.

More than 1,000 armed police are on standby as major spectacles, including the FA Cup Final at Wembley and the Premiership Rugby Final at Twickenham, are expected to draw tens of thousands of people into public spaces on Saturday.

Despite the country being placed on critical alert, police have urged people to go out and enjoy themselves.

Britain’s senior counter-terror officer said “immense” progress had been made in the probe into the associates of suicide bomber Salman Abedi and a “large part” of his suspected network had been dismantled.</s>The UK's terror threat level has been reduced from critical to severe, Theresa May has said.

This means the likelihood of an attack is highly likely rather than imminent.

Operation Temperer, which allows the military to be deployed to key sites, will continue until the end of the Bank Holiday, the Prime Minister said.
Theresa May announces that the British terror threat level has been downgraded from "critical" to "severe" and that Operation Temperer will be phased out shortly, following productive counter-terrorism investigations.