I’m so sorry over Old Trafford ‘bomb’ chaos insists security boss
MANCHESTER United last night defended their “Code Red” stadium evacuation – as the security chief responsible joked that he faced the “guillotine” over the shambles.
Bomb disposal experts raced to the 75,000-seat Old Trafford stadium on Sunday to carry out a controlled explosion on an “incredibly lifelike” training device that sparked the alert.
Days earlier the fake mobile phone bomb was unintentionally left strapped to a lavatory pipe during a training exercise at the ground.
Yesterday United chief executive Ed Woodward said the dummy bomb could not be detected by a routine sniffer dog search as it contained no explosives.
Proud
He was “proud” of how his staff handled the scare.
Meanwhile the humiliated boss of private firm Security Search Management & Solutions said he felt “gutted” and “really sorry” they left the training device behind.
Chris Reid, owner of the Kent-based company, says he was still waiting to hear from United but feared he would be “hung out to dry”.
He was in a five-man team that planted the fake bombs last week but believes the Premier League side did not need to abandon the match against Bournemouth. It will now be played at 8pm tonight. Mr Reid said: “I’m sure they’re having meetings at the moment to see which guillotine they’re going to use on me.”
The former Metropolitan Police officer worked on security at the London 2012 Olympics.
Asked to confirm his job title, Mr Reid said: “I’m the managing director of Security Search Management & Solutions Ltd, which is probably about to go into liquidation. I’m fixing my roof while I’ve still got one.”
United’s Mr Woodward said: The contractor had signed the device as having been recovered along with the 13 other devices at the end of the exercise.”
He added: “Presented with the same situation in the future, we would take the same action.”
Furious Manchester Crime Commissioner and mayor Tony Lloyd attacked Sunday’s “astonishing” incident as a “fiasco”.
He said: “What’s almost impossible to understand is how those dummy bombs were not counted in again.”
Mr Lloyd said the question of who pays for the police and Army deployment would now be looked at.
The security firm was hired by a sub-contractor to carry out practical training exercises for dog handlers.