UK PM Boris Johnson condemns Liverpool blast, says another terror attack 'highly likely'

British PM Boris Johnson condemned a recent explosion outside a Liverpool Hospital, which police has now declared as a “terrorist act”. Addressing a press briefing on Monday, Johnson asserted that the blast was a “stark reminder” that people needed to be “vigilant.” An independent terror analysis of the explosion, which took off in a taxi outside the hospital, has prompted authorities to raise the threat level in the country from “substantial” to “severe”, implying that another terror attack is highly likely. 

“It's a stark reminder for us to be vigilant. We are raising the UK threat level to severe. Meaning terror attack is highly likely,” Johson told reporters. Speaking further, the conservative leader asserted that the attack also showed that Britain will never cower down to such attacks. “We will never give in to those who seek to divide the country with senseless acts of violence,” he said. 

During the conference, he also offered condolences to the families and individuals affected by the attack. Paying tribute to the emergency services on behalf of the whole country, he lauded them for the speed and proficiency with which they responded to the services. 

UK Police launches probe into attack 

Earlier in the day, UK police commenced a full-fledged investigation into the deadly explosion in a taxi outside a hospital in Liverpool. Labelling it as a ‘terrorist incident’, Russ Jackson, the head of Counter-terrorism Policing in northwest England, said that the blast was caused by “the ignition of an explosive device” that was bought into the taxi by a passenger, as reported by Associated Press. 

Another report by DW news quoted Jackson as saying, “Enquiries will now continue to seek to understand how the device was built, the motivation for the incident and to understand if anyone else was involved in it." The counter-terrorism police, UK took to Twitter and informed, ‘The incident in Liverpool yesterday has been declared terrorism. Counter-Terrorism Policing, along with our partners, continue to work at pace.’

Image: AP