Mass siren texts will warn of terror threats

EVERY mobile phone in the country will receive emergency siren alerts from the Government to warn the public of disasters such as floods, fires and terrorist attacks under a system being launched today.

The alerts will be sent if there is judged to be a “risk to life”. A UK-wide test of the system will take place next month.

Under the Emergency Alerts structure, the Government and emergency services will be able to send urgent messages to nearly 90 per cent of phones in a defined area. Alerts sent via mobile broadcasting technology will appear on device home screens accompanied by a “loud siren-like sound” for up to 10 seconds. Users must acknowledge the alert before they can start using their phone again.

People who do not want to receive the alerts can opt out of them in their device settings, but the Government is urging people to remain opted in because of their “life-saving potential”.

Ministers said it will not reveal an individual’s location or collect personal data.

The system will be used “very rarely”, the Government has said, and only in situations posing an “immediate risk” to people’s lives, with the alerts always including details of the area affected and providing instructions about how best to respond.

A UK-wide test will take place on Sunday, April 23, with people receiving a test message on their phones.

Oliver Dowden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats from flooding to wild fires.

“It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and help us keep people safe. As we’ve seen in the US and elsewhere, the buzz of a phone can save a life.”