Terror threat level reduced to 'severe' after Manchester arrests

The UK's terror threat level has been reduced from "critical" to "severe", the Prime Minister has confirmed.

At an emergency COBRA meeting, the independent Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre advised that the UK should return to the second-highest level, which indicates an attack is highly likely rather than imminent.

Operation Temperer, which has seen armed soldiers support police on the streets, will be gradually stood down after the bank holiday weekend.

The terror threat level had been upgraded to "critical" following the Manchester bombing, which killed 22 people on Monday night.

Theresa May said the decision followed a "significant amount of police activity over the last 24 hours". A total of 11 people suspected of having links to the terror attack are now in police custody.

However, the Prime Minister stressed that the "country should remain vigilant" during the hundreds of events taking place over the coming days - including the FA Cup final at Wembley, and the Premiership Rugby final at Twickenham.

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Image:A bomb disposal van was sent to an operation in Moss Side on Saturday morning

The announcement came as an evacuation took place in Moss Side as part of a search linked to the Manchester terror attack.

Greater Manchester Police described the evacuation in the inner-city area as a "precautionary measure to ensure everyone's safety".

Boscombe Street was cleared by counter-terror officers on Saturday morning, and a bomb disposal van was sent to the scene.

Police lifted the cordon shortly before 12.30pm, and residents were allowed back into the area.

Mark Rowley, the head of national counter-terrorism policing, has said 17 searches have either concluded or are continuing - with most of them in the North West.

Speaking outside Scotland Yard, he stressed there was still much more to do, and warned more searches and more arrests were likely to take place in the coming days.

Overnight, officers performed a controlled explosion at a property in Cheetham Hill. Two men, aged 20 and 22, were arrested.

A bus was also stormed to detain a 44-year-old man in Rusholme.

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