Parsons Green tube explosion: May says threat level remains at severe - as it happened

Both BBC and Sky News have been told that the IED had a timer fitted.

The Guardian has so far been unable to confirm these reports.

The official line from the Met is that a fire was caused by the detonation of an improvised device.

No arrests have so far been made, Scotland Yard has confirmed.

In its latest statement the Met said:

So far there have been no arrests.

We believe the fire was caused by the detonation of an improvised device, which is being forensically examined.

Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley, from the head of national counter-terrorism policing, said: “There are many urgent inquiries ongoing, with hundreds of detectives involved, looking at CCTV, carrying out forensic work and speaking to witnesses.

“I am appealing for anyone who has information that would assist detectives to contact the hotline on 0800 789 321. I would also urge anyone with images or moving footage from the scene to upload them at www.ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk.

“Today and over the weekend the public can expect to see a heightened police presence, particularly in crowded places and at transport hubs.

“As always, we urge the public to remain calm but alert; if they have any concerns, see or hear anything suspicious then please contact the police on the confidential hotline 0800 789 321. In an emergency always call 999.”

15 Sept 201707.56 EDT

Mayor confirms 'manhunt underway'

Haroon Siddique

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has told LBC radio: “There is a manhunt underway as we speak.”

He said he was not allowed to say whether that meant a specific suspect was being sought.

Earlier, speaking outside New Scotland Yard, Mark Rowley, the assistant Met commissioner, declined to answer questions about whether anyone was in custody.

15 Sept 201707.50 EDT

Haroon Siddique

The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has joined in condemnation of the attack:

Once more people going about their everyday lives have been targeted in a callous and indiscriminate way. My thoughts are with all those injured and affected.

The police and emergency services were quickly on the scene and I would like to pay tribute again to their professionalism and tireless commitment.

I am receiving regular updates on what is an ongoing and active investigation. I would urge Londoners to remain alert and assist the police and emergency services as much as they can.

A massive search is under way for whoever planted the home-made device on the tube carriage at Parsons Green.

Detectives were examining CCTV from the London Underground network to determine where the perpetrators entered and exited the tube system.

The tube network and London generally are well covered by CCTV cameras.

The investigation, led by Scotland Yard’s counter-terrorism command and involving MI5, the domestic security service, will want to arrest those suspected of involvement in the attack before they can strike again.

The improvised explosive device will be examined by forensic experts, and may provide clues from its construction and the chemicals used to make the explosive charge.

Looking at why it did not fully detonate will give them clues as well.

Counter-terrorism investigators are looking specifically for whoever carried the device, pictured on social media as being in a bucket, on to the tube carriage. They will also want to know how it was detonated – in person or somehow remotely?

Furthermore, they will want to establish where the device was put together, and where the materials to make it were acquired from.

Other key question are whether knowledge of how to build the device was obtained from a plethora of DIY guides on the internet, or from another person.

Assistant commissioner Mark Rowley said hundreds of detectives had been drafted into the investigation.

The explosion at Parsons Green is the fifth terrorist attack to get through Britain’s defences since March 2017. Two in London and a bombing in Manchester were blamed on Islamist terrorism. A van attack in June was blamed on rightwing extremism.

The terrorism threat level is set by the joint terrorism analysis centre (JTAC), which sits within MI5. In the immediate hours after the Parsons Green incident the threat remained at severe, meaning an attack is highly likely.

It was last raised to its maximum level in May for several days, after the suicide bombing attack on Manchester Arena, as investigators tried to satisfy themselves there were no bomb-making materials or suspects still at large, and thus intending and capable of attacking again.

Similarly, after Parsons Green, senior counter-terrorism officials will want to gain control of any suspects and/or materials related to the attack.

The Met has video of that Mark Rowley statement (see earlier for the text).

NHS England said 22 people are now being treated by four hospital trusts across London.

London ambulance service took 18 patients to hospital, while another four self-presented.

15 Sept 201707.18 EDT

Sarah Marsh

South African Gillian Wixley, 36, who lives in Putney, was eight seats from the explosion. She said:

I first heard a loud bang, followed by smoke and fire rising upwards. I was about eight seats away from where the explosion happened and immediately everyone started rushing off the train. It was chaotic: things were flying everywhere and people were falling over as they got off. There was lots of people panicking and people were injured due to the crush.

It wasn’t a big explosion, more of a bang and then there was fire. It all happened very quickly.

I heard a girl screaming, ‘Get off the train!’ Everyone rushed out and as I looked back I could see flames going up the wall. I was near the back of the train but toward the front people were running towards the exit. We were more worried about doing this because moving forward would mean moving past where the fire was.

By the time I got to the stairs, for some reason they were not letting people down – maybe because of the crush of everyone trying to get out. But people were panicking and wanted to go know why they couldn’t move forward.

One woman came up and I could see that the whole of her hair on one side was singed. She was holding her ear and saying: ‘I have to get out.’ Everyone responded very swiftly and moved aside so she could get down to get help.

Everyone was very emotional. There was one boy maybe age 10 who was commuting to school on his own. He was sitting on the floor sobbing.

He was obviously in shock and very scared. Everyone around him was trying to calm him down and help him.

When I got out I sat on bench in the park. I was really in shock and everyone was just crying. I started to feel relieved I had escaped.

I had not taken my normal commute route today. I was on my way to north London today to go on a volunteering day, working in a school for disabled children. I usually go to Bank station, so I don’t take the District and Circle line. I work in the City for a bank.

I am very shaken up and still in shock about everything that happened this morning. Not looking forward to getting on a train again, but you have to just get on with things. The explosion happened on a platform, which is lucky – if you can say that. I am grateful it wasn’t worse.

15 Sept 201707.13 EDT

Robert Booth

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Stephen Cowan, leader of the London borough of Hammersmith and Fulham has described the attack as “disgusting” but praised the police and emergency services and appealed to the public for for calm.

Speaking at the police cordon on Darlan Road, a couple of hundred of metres from where the Parsons Green attack happened, he said: “The police and all the emergency services have put in a very co-ordinated response. They were straight down there to reassure people and also to track down what had happened.

“It is being treated as a terrorist incident as you would expect, but I would stress that people should remain calm and the situation is completely under control. I think that people that express themselves through terror, it’s atrocious and is anti everything we stand for and they should be tracked down and dealt with in the severest possible terms. The real issue is that London is a vibrant city and people are living side by side and working well and living well together and we should never let anyone do anything that threatens that culture.

“Any terrorist attack is absolutely atrocious and a threat to the values we stand for, and it is disgusting what happened and that is why there has been a very co-ordinated response. The police and emergency services have once again acted extremely effectively and they have the area on lockdown and they are dealing with the incident ... We will never give in to this type of terrorism”

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust has activated a major incident plan.