ESSEX police tested their emergency response skills during in a live terror training exercise at Stansted Airport.

Officers and airport staff had to deal with a live simulation of a terror attack in the terminal building run by Manchester Airports Group between midnight and 3am today, Saturday March 10.

Deputy Airport Commander Chief Inspector Richard Phillibrown, said: “This was a really positive exercise where we were able to test our response to a would-be terror attack.

“During the live play we tested our tactical response to terrorists with firearms and how we would deal with the challenge in practice.

“Stansted is the UK’s fourth busiest airport and more than 26 million passengers pass through there each year so it’s essential we’re prepared for any eventuality.

Gazette:

“There’s no specific intelligence currently to suggest there may be an attack at Stansted but as the UK terror threat level is at ‘severe’ it’s really important we carry out these exercises to make sure we’re ready should the worst happen.

“I hope these kinds of exercises also give the public confidence that they are safe when using the airport."

Gazette:

John Farrow, London Stansted’s Security & Customer Services Director, said: “The safety and security of passengers, staff and airport infrastructure will always be our overriding priority so it’s vital we collaborate with our airport partners and the emergency services to prepare, develop and test how we protect against and respond to a wide range of operational scenarios and incidents.”

Gazette:

Police ask residents if they see anything suspicious while at Stansted Airport, or any other location in Essex, to report it.

Advice if you are caught up in a terror attack is to run, hide, and tell - run to the nearest place of safety, if you can’t run then hide as best as you can, and tell the emergency services where you are and what you can see.