Police apology after ‘ bomber’ in mock mall attack shouts ‘Allahu Akbar’
POLICE were accused of stereotyping Muslims yesterday after a mock terrorist in a training drill shouted ‘Allahu Akbar’ before detonating his fake bomb.
Hundreds of volunteers, many smeared in pretend blood, scattered as the black-clad ‘attacker’ shouted the phrase as he pretended to blow himself up in a shopping centre.
His use of ‘Allahu Akbar’ – Arabic for ‘God is great’ – sparked a social media storm, with critics complaining it was a ‘stupid decision’ and accusing the police of fuelling Islamophobia.
Greater Manchester Police later apologised for the ‘unacceptable’ incident, saying the phrase should not have featured in the Trafford Centre drill.
However, the climbdown then sparked its own backlash, with some accusing the force of bowing to political correctness. Many said it was simply common sense that a terror attack in this country was likely to involve radical Islam.
Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, said: ‘ As that is what is being shouted by many suicide bombers, it seems reasonable. It would have been silly to shout “God save the Queen”, wouldn’t it? The whole point of exercises is to make them as realistic as possible. There is plenty of evidence that this phrase is consistently used by suicide bombers.’
He accused police of ‘pandering to the politically correct brigade again’. Making reference to a knife attack near a German train station yesterday in which one victim died, he added: ‘It’s surprising that people aren’t more offended by someone in Munich shouting it whilst stabbing innocent people rather than an exercise.’
The drill in Manchester, which took place while the shopping centre was closed overnight, was one of the biggest counterterrorism training exercises ever in Britain. Some 800 volunteers played the dead and wounded.
It was designed to test emergency services’ readiness for attacks like those in Paris and Brussels coming to a British city.
It began with a man shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’ before a real, albeit small explosive was detonated. ‘Victims’ – wearing safety glasses and ear defenders – screamed and ran for their lives. Others played dead as ‘terrorists’ tried to seize control of the centre.
Police officers wearing body armour and toting assault rifles then swept into the building, while teams of paramedics prepared to treat the ‘wounded’.
But as images and videos were shared online yesterday, critics questioned why the Arabic phrase had been used. Commu- nity activist Dr Erinma Bell wrote on Twitter: ‘We need to move away from stereotypes if we want to achieve real learning. A terrorist can be anyone.’
Manchester University diversity officer Ilyas Nagdee added: ‘Stupid decision by @gmpolice to decide attackers should be seen as Muslim. Maybe that’s why Islamophobia’s gone up 300 per cent in the UK.’ Greater Manchester Police Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan apologised, saying the exercise had been based on an Islamic Statestyle attack ‘mirroring details of past events to make the situation as real-life as possible’.
He added: ‘On reflection we acknowledge that it was unacceptable to use this religious phrase immediately before the mock suicide bombing, which so vocally linked this exercise to Islam. We recognise and apologise for the offence this has caused.’
But solicitor Ben Tyer wrote on Twitter: ‘It’s like training for an IRA bomb threat and getting upset they’re using Irish accents.’ And Ezekiel Kensington told the force: ‘No need to apologise, you were right and followed the pattern of Brussels, Paris, Lee Rigby. PC Brigade need a reality check.’
The phrase ‘Allahu Akbar’ features in Muslim prayer, but extremists have been accused of hijacking it for their twisted ends.
Police warned locals in advance about the drill, codenamed Exercise Winchester Accord, adding that there was no specific threat to the Trafford Centre.
‘Make it as real as possible’