In shadow of bombing, UK resumes election campaign

London, May 26 

Campaigning for Britain’s national election resumed in earnest on Friday with the country on high alert for further attacks after a suicide bombing in Manchester.

After the deadliest attack in Britain since July 2005, a new poll indicated that Labour had closed to five points behind Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative party, with police budgets and foreign policy emerging as key campaign issues.

Armed police backed up by the army are patrolling cities and trains, and hospitals have been warned to be ready. Home Secretary (interior minister) Amber Rudd said the threat level remained at its highest level, “critical”, meaning an attack is expected imminently.

“JTAC (the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre) have assessed that the level of threat should remain at critical while the operation continues,” Rudd said. “The public should be in no doubt that there is a large threat.”

However, Security Minister Ben Wallace said there was no evidence of a specific threat over the holiday weekend, when a number of major events take place including Saturday’s soccer FA Cup final in London, where extra armed officers will be on duty. On his first official trip to Britain as US secretary of state, Rex Tillerson said “all across America, hearts are broken” by the attack.

British police briefly suspended intelligence sharing with the US on Thursday after confidential details of their investigation repeatedly appeared in American media, but Tillerson said the allies’ close security relationship would survive. — Reuters