Police and fire services outside the University of Glasgow after the building was evacuated when a suspect package was found in the mailroom. Photos / AP
Police and fire services outside the University of Glasgow after the building was evacuated when a suspect package was found in the mailroom. Photos / AP
Counter-terror police are investigating whether a fourth suspicious package is linked to a letter bomb campaign believed to have been orchestrated by a dissident Republican group.
Students at Glasgow University had to be evacuated when staff became concerned following the receipt of a parcel just a day after three improvised explosive devices were sent to transport hubs across London.
Specialist officers carried out a controlled explosion on the package in Glasgow and Police Scotland confirmed they were liaising with counter-terrorism colleagues based in London, the Daily Telegraph reports.
Yesterday three incendiary devices were sent to Heathrow Airport, City Airport and Waterloo railway station from the Republic of Ireland.
The crude devices were understood to be similar to those sent to army recruitment offices in January 2014, prompting concern of a fresh campaign by a dissident group, the New IRA.
Two men, aged 35 and 46, and two women aged 44, and 21, all from Londonderry, were arrested in connection with that alleged plot five years ago, but nobody was ever charged.
The Republican group, which split in 2012 from another dissident group, the Real IRA, has been stepping up its activities in recent months.
Nobody was hurt in the latest round of incidents, but the device sent to Heathrow Airport did detonate and burst into flames when it was opened.
Security sources said the packages had not been designed to kill or maim, but could have caused injury to anyone handling them.
Counter-terror police in the Irish Republic confirmed they were assisting Scotland Yard with the investigation after it emerged the parcels each bore Irish Republic stamps and even had Dublin addresses marked on the envelopes.
The stamps appeared to have been issued by the Irish postal service for Valentine's Day 2018, featuring a heart motif and the words "Love Eire N".
The senders' addresses were given as Dublin, with the one addressed to Waterloo appearing to add the transport company, Bus Eireann.
While no group had claimed responsibility for the devices, sources said they bore the hallmarks of packages sent by the New IRA.
Tensions have been rising in Northern Ireland in recent months over continuing uncertainty over the future of the border after Brexit.
A forensic worker outside the University of Glasgow.
Philip Ingram, a former senior intelligence and security officer, said despite the crude nature of the devices, the seriousness of the matter should not be underestimated.
He said: "While this was not the most sophisticated device, someone had put together a viable incendiary device that has managed to remain viable through the international post and then ignite when it was opened, which is exactly what it was designed to do."
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dean Haydon, the senior national coordinator for counter-terrorism policing, said there was still no clear motivation behind the incidents.
He said: "We are talking to our Irish counterparts but at the moment there's nothing to indicate motivation of the sender or ideology, so I cannot confirm at the moment if it's connected to any Ireland-related terrorist groups."
Police have also warned there could be more parcels and urged vigilance for those handling mail.
Commander Clarke Jarrett, head of the Met's Police Counter Terrorism Command, said: "We have issued extensive advice to transport hubs and mail sorting companies to be vigilant for and report suspicious packages to police, as always we encourage anyone who sees something suspicious to report it."
