‘Run, hide, tell’ safety campaign

Police chiefs have warned eyewitnesses to flee the scene of a terrorist attack rather than getting their smartphones out to take photos or record video.

Officers highlighted the recent episode at Parsons Green, where images of a partially exploded bomb on a Tube train were posted online within minutes.

The warning forms part of a new campaign aimed at ensuring children and teenagers know the key safety steps to follow if they are caught up in a terror incident.

In the first initiative of its kind, the UK’s counterterrorism police network is also calling for the “run, hide, tell” message to be routinely taught in schools as part of the national curriculum.

Britain is facing an unprecedented threat after a wave of atrocities in 2017, including the Manchester bombing, in which a pop concert packed with young fans was targeted.

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Lucy D’Orsi, the national policing lead for protective security, said: “We appreciate that talking to young people about terrorism can be scary, for parents and children alike.

“But the atrocities in London and Manchester have sadly resulted in some of the youngest victims of terror this country has ever seen, and if we are able to teach children to act in a way which could potentially save their lives then it is our responsibility to do so.”