Did you witness any of Sunday’s events in Liverpool or know the bomber? Do you know the hero in the high-viz jacket in the blast video?

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A bomb squad has tonight carried out a controlled explosion near a house in Liverpool raided in connection to a suicide bombing outside a hospital on Remembrance Sunday. 

It is understood the explosion in Sefton Park was done ‘as part of the ongoing investigation into the terrorist incident’ outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital yesterday just before 11am, and that residents ‘shouldn’t be concerned’.

The UK’s terror threat level was raised to ‘severe’ today from ‘substantial’ following a COBRA meeting at Downing Street. Experts from police and the security services advised the Prime Minister that another attack on British soil is now ‘highly likely’ after the cab bombing on Merseyside and Conservative MP Sir David Amess’s murder in Essex.

Boris Johnson urged the country to be ‘vigilant’ at a Covid press briefing this afternoon, calling the blast a ‘stark reminder’ to the public. It follows claims that the suspected terrorist settled in the UK from the Middle East several years ago and was unknown to Britain’s security services. 

Mr Johnson added: ‘What yesterday showed above all is that the British people will never be cowed by terrorism, we will never give in to those who seek to divide us with senseless acts of violence. And our freedoms and our way of life will always prevail.’

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: ‘The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) is now increasing the UK threat level from substantial to severe. There is a reason for this, it’s because the incident we saw yesterday was the second in a month.’ 

Detectives and MI5 spies are investigating whether the bombing was an Islamist-inspired attack and whether the attacker was motivated to kill himself and others. 

The suspect is thought to have built his bomb at home in Liverpool and is understood to have settled in Britain from the Middle East several years ago, security sources said. MI5 spies were not aware of him before yesterday’s bombing, MailOnline understands.

Today a witness filmed armed officers scaling the rear wall of a Kensington terraced house with a ladder after the address was linked to the suicide bomber who blew himself up in a taxi outside a maternity hospital on Remembrance Sunday. The taxi blast was also captured on CCTV which also emerged today, while the driver David Perry, who managed to escape alive, has been branded a hero after apparently locking the doors to stop him entering the hospital.

Officers are still searching two addresses – one in Sutcliffe Street and a second at Rutland Avenue in Sefton Park, where ‘significant items’, believed to include bomb making equipment, have been found.

Three men aged 21, 26 and 29 were arrested yesterday under S41 of the Terrorism Act at a terraced house Sutcliffe Street, Liverpool. This morning, again in the Kensington area, a further man aged 20 was arrested on suspicion of the same terror offence when he returned home to the same property. 

Investigators have ‘attributed’ the bomber to both the addresses but police are not yet sure where he lived, and last night at 9.45pm anti-terror officers forced their way into the front and back of the Sutcliffe Street house as they tried to establish if he was a lone wolf or part of a cell.

Suspects were seen with their hands up in the rear yard, as officers trained their rifles on them and told them to get on the floor. Matthew Heitman, 26, who lives opposite the raided house, said: ‘Two of the men were marched out at gunpoint and they had them up against the wall. The people living there had not long moved in, maybe weeks or months.’

Another neighbour, Sharon Cullen, said she and her husband, 22-year-old daughter and two-year-old grandson were evacuated from their home. She said: ‘The police pounded on my door and an officer said ‘we need to get you out of the house as soon as possible’. They said ‘whatever is going on at the back of the house, it could blow the block’. It was really frightening.’  

Mr Perry has been credited with saving many lives after keeping the suspect inside his cab in the moments before it blew up. His wife has revealed he is ‘doing ok but is extremely sore’, while adding that his escape was an ‘utter miracle’.  

Rachel Perry wrote on Facebook: ‘I would just like to thank each and every one of you who has messaged asking how David is. He is doing ok but is extremely sore and trying to process what’s happened.

‘There are a lot of rumours flying round about him being a hero and locking the passenger inside the car. But the truth of the matter is, he is without doubt, lucky to be alive. The explosion happened whilst he was in the car and how he managed to escape is an utter miracle. He certainly had some guardian angels looking over him.’

Ahead of this afternoon’s COBRA meeting, the Prime Minister said Mr Perry acted with ‘incredible presence of mind and bravery’.

The Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, added: ‘The taxi driver, in his heroic efforts, has managed to divert what could have been an absolutely awful disaster at the hospital’, adding that he had ‘locked the doors’ to keep the bomber in the back. 

Speaking at a press conference this morning, Assistant Chief Constable Russ Jackson of Counter Terrorism North West said they know the identity of the taxi passenger and believe that he made the bomb.

He said: ‘It is not clear what the motivation for this incident is. Our enquiries indicate that an improvised explosive device has been manufactured and our assumption so far is that this was built by the passenger in the taxi.

‘The reason why he then took it to the Women’s Hospital is unknown, as is the reason for its sudden explosion. We are of course aware that there were Remembrance events just a short distance away from the hospital and that the ignition occurred shortly before 11am.

‘We cannot at this time draw any connection with this but it is a line of inquiry we are pursuing. Although, the motivation for this incident is yet to be understood, given all the circumstances, it has been declared a terrorist incident and counter-terrorism policing are continuing with the investigation. Our enquiries will now continue to seek to understand how the device was built, the motivation for the incident and to understand if anyone else was involved in it’.  

Here’s what we know about the terror attack so far: 

  • Police have identified the bomber who is understood to have arrived in the UK from the Middle East several years ago; 
  • The taxi containing the alleged suicide bomber pulled up outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital and explodes at 10.57am yesterday. New footage shows the driver David Perry jump out after the blast having apparently locked the doors to prevent him getting into the hospital;
  • Three men aged 21, 26 and 27, are arrested with two properties around a mile from the scene being searched by police: Sutcliffe Street in Kensington. This morning a fourth suspect, 20, was arrested in Kensington, also under the Terrorism Act.
  • Armed Police surrounded a property in Rutland Avenue close to Liverpool’s Sefton Park last night, where the  suicide bomber had been picked up from. Officers evacuated neighbouring properties, suggesting this is where the IED was built. The police activity reduced at 3.30am but the street remains cordoned off; 
  • MI5 are helping police in the north-west with an Islamist terror attack among the scenarios being investigated;
  • One theory police are probing is that the detonators on a potential bomb exploded but not the main charge. Experts tell MailOnline that the bomb was probably not a high explosive such as TNT but of a hydrocarbon substance, most likely petrol. 
A bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion near a house in Liverpool this evening raided in connection to a suicide bombing outside a hospital on Remembrance Sunday. It is understood the explosion in Sefton Park was done 'as part of the ongoing investigation into the terrorist incident' outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital yesterday just before 11am and that residents 'shouldn't be concerned'

A bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion near a house in Liverpool this evening raided in connection to a suicide bombing outside a hospital on Remembrance Sunday. It is understood the explosion in Sefton Park was done 'as part of the ongoing investigation into the terrorist incident' outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital yesterday just before 11am and that residents 'shouldn't be concerned'

A bomb squad has carried out a controlled explosion near a house in Liverpool this evening raided in connection to a suicide bombing outside a hospital on Remembrance Sunday. It is understood the explosion in Sefton Park was done ‘as part of the ongoing investigation into the terrorist incident’ outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital yesterday just before 11am and that residents ‘shouldn’t be concerned’

This is the moment the taxi carrying an alleged suicide bomber exploded outside a Liverpool hospital in what police and MI5 are now probing as a Poppy Day terror attack

This is the moment the taxi carrying an alleged suicide bomber exploded outside a Liverpool hospital in what police and MI5 are now probing as a Poppy Day terror attack

This is the moment the taxi carrying an alleged suicide bomber exploded outside a Liverpool hospital in what police and MI5 are now probing as a Poppy Day terror attack

This is the moment yesterday evening when armed officers raided a property in Sutcliffe Street Liverpool with one marksman scaling the back wall with a ladder and pointing it at a man leaving the back door.

This is the moment yesterday evening when armed officers raided a property in Sutcliffe Street Liverpool with one marksman scaling the back wall with a ladder and pointing it at a man leaving the back door.

This is the moment yesterday evening when armed officers raided a property in Sutcliffe Street Liverpool with one marksman scaling the back wall with a ladder and pointing it at a man leaving the back door.

A squad of armed officers were heard telling the suspects to 'get on the floor' and 'don't f***ing move' before taking three men away

A squad of armed officers were heard telling the suspects to 'get on the floor' and 'don't f***ing move' before taking three men away

A squad of armed officers were heard telling the suspects to 'get on the floor' and 'don't f***ing move' before taking three men away

A squad of armed officers were heard telling the suspects to 'get on the floor' and 'don't f***ing move' before taking three men away

A squad of armed officers were heard telling the suspects to ‘get on the floor’ and ‘don’t f***ing move’ before taking three men away

Boris Johnson today urged the public to be "vigilant" after the UK terror threat level was raised to severe following a blast outside Liverpool Women's Hospital

Boris Johnson today urged the public to be "vigilant" after the UK terror threat level was raised to severe following a blast outside Liverpool Women's Hospital

Boris Johnson today urged the public to be ‘vigilant’ after the UK terror threat level was raised to severe following a blast outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital

Police at the sealed off house in Sutcliffe Street where three men were arrested last night and another suspect nearby this morning

Police at the sealed off house in Sutcliffe Street where three men were arrested last night and another suspect nearby this morning

Police at the sealed off house in Sutcliffe Street where three men were arrested last night and another suspect nearby this morning

A male was arrested in the area close to the house in Sutcliffe Street, Kensington, this morning. It is not known if he is the fourth suspect held by police over the taxi bombing

A male was arrested in the area close to the house in Sutcliffe Street, Kensington, this morning. It is not known if he is the fourth suspect held by police over the taxi bombing

A male was arrested in the area close to the house in Sutcliffe Street, Kensington, this morning. It is not known if he is the fourth suspect held by police over the taxi bombing

Hero taxi driver David Perry who apparently locked a suicide bomber in his car before a blast ripped through the vehicle outside a maternity hospital in Liverpool on Sunday

Hero taxi driver David Perry who apparently locked a suicide bomber in his car before a blast ripped through the vehicle outside a maternity hospital in Liverpool on Sunday

Hero taxi driver David Perry with his wife Rachel

Hero taxi driver David Perry with his wife Rachel

Hero taxi driver David Perry (left, and right with his wife Rachel) who apparently locked a suicide bomber in his car before a blast ripped through the vehicle outside a maternity hospital in Liverpool on Sunday

These are the events that led to the explosion outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital yesterday and the arrests and raids that followed

The taxi is seen travelling into the hospital car park at a fair speed at just before 10.57am, at a time when the driver may have chosen to lock the doors to keep his passenger inside having become suspicious of him

The taxi is seen travelling into the hospital car park at a fair speed at just before 10.57am, at a time when the driver may have chosen to lock the doors to keep his passenger inside having become suspicious of him

The taxi is seen travelling into the hospital car park at a fair speed at just before 10.57am, at a time when the driver may have chosen to lock the doors to keep his passenger inside having become suspicious of him

Before the car can come to a halt, it explodes, with all the windows shattered by debris from the blast

Before the car can come to a halt, it explodes, with all the windows shattered by debris from the blast

Before the car can come to a halt, it explodes, with all the windows shattered by debris from the blast

Smoke billows out of the car. Friends of the driver have said that he became suspicious of the man he had on board

Smoke billows out of the car. Friends of the driver have said that he became suspicious of the man he had on board

Smoke billows out of the car. Friends of the driver have said that he became suspicious of the man he had on board

A dazed Mr Perry is seen opening the door around six seconds after the blast. He is lucky to be alive and his passenger is likely to be dead

A dazed Mr Perry is seen opening the door around six seconds after the blast. He is lucky to be alive and his passenger is likely to be dead

A dazed Mr Perry is seen opening the door around six seconds after the blast. He is lucky to be alive and his passenger is likely to be dead

The hero taxi driver runs from the vehicle and appears to point away from the car, warning people to stay away because of what has unfolded inside

The hero taxi driver runs from the vehicle and appears to point away from the car, warning people to stay away because of what has unfolded inside

The hero taxi driver runs from the vehicle and appears to point away from the car, warning people to stay away because of what has unfolded inside

By 10.59am the car was fully alight and Mr Perry had been carried away by a member of the hospital security team

By 10.59am the car was fully alight and Mr Perry had been carried away by a member of the hospital security team

By 10.59am the car was fully alight and Mr Perry had been carried away by a member of the hospital security team

Three men have been arrested as part of a terror probe after one person died and another was injured when a taxi pulled up and exploded (pictured) at Liverpool Women's Hospital seconds before the 11am Remembrance Sunday silence began

Three men have been arrested as part of a terror probe after one person died and another was injured when a taxi pulled up and exploded (pictured) at Liverpool Women's Hospital seconds before the 11am Remembrance Sunday silence began

Three men have been arrested as part of a terror probe after one person died and another was injured when a taxi pulled up and exploded (pictured) at Liverpool Women’s Hospital seconds before the 11am Remembrance Sunday silence began

POPPY DAY HOSPITAL EXPLOSION: HOW EVENTS UNFOLDED ON REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 

A picture shows the burnt out vehicle outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital on Sunday afternoon

A picture shows the burnt out vehicle outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital on Sunday afternoon

A picture shows the burnt out vehicle outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital on Sunday afternoon

Sunday, November 14 

10.57am: The taxi pulls up at the Liverpool Women’s Hospital and explodes seconds later.

10.59am: The vehicle is fully engulfed just before the national silence for Remembrance Sunday. 

The passenger was killed and the driver was left with serious injuries. The latter is said to have spotted the explosives, ‘jumped’ from the car and locked the other man inside. 

At the time, a remembrance service involving scores of military personnel, veterans and civic dignitaries, was taking place at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral less than a mile away. There are reports the taxi parked at the hospital because it could not get any closer to the Cathedral.

11.04am: Police and emergency services arrive at the scene, and it is initially thought the car might have caught alight because of a fuel leak.

1pm: Officers, who are believed to have spoken to hero taxi driver David Perry, announce the incident is being treated as an act of terrorism.

4.54pm: Police seal off Rutland Avenue (right). Around a mile from the blast. Locals said armed police ordered residents to leave and head to a nearby leisure centre, saying the area ‘wasn’t safe’ and were ‘pointing guns at a house’. Counter-terror negotiators were also called to the scene.

6.59pm: The men – aged 29, 26, and 21 – were detained in the Kensington area of the city and arrested under the Terrorism Act.

Monday, November 15 

3.30am: The operation at the Rutland Avenue address appears to wind down.

10am: Footage of the explosion emerges on CCTV from the scene.

Midday: Police confirm it is being treated as a terror attack. And a man, 20, becomes the fourth suspect arrested

3pm: After raising the UK terror threat level to ‘severe’, speaking at a press conference at Downing Street, the Prime Minister said the blast was a ‘stark reminder’ to the public to remain vigilant, adding: ‘What yesterday showed above all is that the British people will never be cowed by terrorism, we will never give in to those who seek to divide us with senseless acts of violence.

‘And our freedoms and our way of life will always prevail.’

 

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Detectives say the male passenger who died in the blast had asked to go Liverpool’s Women’s Hospital, around ten minutes drive from his home in Rutland Avenue, which police have sealed off. They also evacuated eight neighbours overnight amid fears it was being used as a bomb factory.  

Friends of Mr Perry believe the target may have been the city’s nearby Service of Remembrance at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral, where 1,200 military personnel, veterans and families of the fallen had gathered less than a mile from the hospital. Roads around the cathedral had been closed before the 11am Poppy Day event.   

CCTV has emerged capturing the horrifying moment Mr Perry’s taxi became a fireball outside the reception of Liverpool Women’s Hospital, shortly before the 11am two-minute’s silence was due to take place yesterday.

The dark-coloured taxi is seen pulling into the hospital car park at speed but it explodes before it comes to a halt outside the reception. All the windows shattered and smoke pours out of the car before a dazed Mr Perry opens the driver’s door and staggers out into the road around six seconds after the blast. 

The injured taxi driver then appears to warn others to stay away from the car and there has also been praise for a man in high-viz yellow who runs towards the blazing taxi to help him. Around 30 seconds after the explosion, with smoke belching out of the car, it is engulfed by flames with the bomber still inside. One witness can be seen looking into the back seat passenger. He decides the passenger is dead and can’t be saved. 

Police are scrambling to discover the bomber’s true target. If it was the hospital, Dr Joseph Downing, a fellow in nationalism at LSE who studies security and terrorism, told MailOnline: ‘It’s quite strange and a worrying new pivot towards such a ‘soft’ target as a hospital that we have not seen before in Europe.’ 

If Mr Perry did lock the doors, today’s terrifying video makes him look even braver, as he may have decided to stop the suspect entering the hospital’s reception, even if it cost him his own life. 

A friend of married father-of-two Mr Perry, 45, said that he believed that the cathedral was the target but traffic and road closures led to the passenger, who has not been formally identified, asking the driver to park at the nearby Liverpool Women’s Hospital instead. If he locked him in, David appears to have stopped the man targeting the hospital as the clock struck 11am. 

One theory police are probing is that the detonators on a potential bomb exploded but not the main charge. That would be a repeat of the failed 21/7 bombings three weeks after the 7/7 atrocity in 2005.

David Videcette, a former 7/7 counter-terror detective at Scotland Yard, said: ‘Improvised Explosive Devices have various components, with each having to operate in the correct order, at a desired point, for there to be an explosion. Sometimes the components don’t operate in order or when desired. It’s possible what we see here is a detonator explosion that has failed to set off the main charge’.  

The Prime Minister has praised the taxi driver caught up in the Liverpool explosion for acting with ‘incredible presence of mind and bravery’.

Speaking at a medical centre in east London on Monday, Boris Johnson echoed the city’s mayor Joanne Anderson in crediting the driver.

Mr Johnson said: ‘It does look as though the taxi driver in question did behave with incredible presence of mind and bravery.’

The investigation into the Remembrance Sunday explosion outside a Liverpool hospital is continuing.

A friend said: ‘David noticed the man had some kind of light attached to his clothing and was messing around with it, it didn’t look right at all. They couldn’t get there, the roads were blocked off.

‘The man changed his mind and asked to go to the city centre instead. But when they were going past the Women’s Hospital he said to pull in there. It was just before 11. David noticed the man had some kind of light attached to his clothing and was messing around with it, it didn’t look right at all.

‘I don’t know how he’s done it with a split second’s thought but David’s jumped out and locked the car with this guy in the back. As soon as he did, it’s gone off. If this guy got in the hospital God knows what could have happened. David’s the luckiest man in Britain as well as the most heroic’.   

Miraculously he suffered just minor cuts and bruises as well as damage to an ear drum. Last night he was discharged from hospital, insiders told MailOnline, while bomb squad including experts from the Army remained at the hospital.

New video and white smoke suggests the suicide bomb failed to explode due to a faulty detonator, says 7/7 cop

One theory police are probing is that the detonators on a potential bomb exploded but not the main charge. 

That would be a repeat of the failed 21/7 bombings three weeks after the 7/7 atrocity in 2005.  

David Videcette, a former 7/7 counter-terror detective at Scotland Yard, tweeted: ‘Any type of explosion in a confined space is devastating, here it blows out the windows and sends the entire windscreen into the sky.

‘This makes obvious that the seat of the blast is where the taxi passenger was, and not the front where the driver was. The white smoke indicates the explosion was fuelled by some type of explosive, the fire then takes hold and the smoke changes colour as it consumes the car.

‘Improvised Explosive Devices have various components, with each having to operate in the correct order, at a desired point, for there to be an explosion. Sometimes the components don’t operate in order or when desired. 

‘It’s possible what we see here is a detonator explosion that has failed to set off the main charge’. 

Nick Aldworth, a former counter-terrorism national co-ordinator, said the timing of the blast was ‘significant’ but it was ‘very much open to debate at the moment about what has happened’.

Professor Clifford Jones, visiting professor at Chester University, told MailOnline: ‘It seems to me that the heat, not the blast, was the lethal factor. That signifies that the bomb was composed not of a high explosive such as TNT but of a hydrocarbon substance, most likely gasoline.’ 

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme that from what he has seen there is ‘very little blast damage’ indicating that whatever was in the vehicle was ‘low yield or didn’t work properly, or possibly an incendiary’. 

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Another friend added: ‘David suffered cuts and bruises, a perforated ear drum and needed stitches in his ear. He’ll be sore in the morning but he’s home. I’m just glad no new babies were leaving at the time. For David to have probably been terrified and think so fast and then end up OK – it’s amazing.’  

Locals said armed police ordered residents to leave, saying the area ‘wasn’t safe’ and were ‘pointing guns at a house’.  Residents of the street were given five minutes to grab some belongings before being evacuated. The operation appears to have ended at around 3.30am and the cordon remains in place this morning.  

A fundraiser was last night set up by some of Mr Perry’s Liverpool taxi driver colleagues to help him and his family recover from the ordeal. It had made £8,500 within hours.

Carl Bessant, whose partner had just had a baby at the hospital, said: ‘She was feeding the baby when it happened. We heard a loud bang and looked out of the window.

‘We saw the car on fire and someone jumped out… screaming, and there was someone inside the car. The hospital shut down, no-one in or out, so they said, but people were using the back entrance.’ 

Sections of Boaler Street and Sutcliffe Street remained cordoned off, with a heavy police presence at the scene as inquiries continued today.

A similar police scene was in place at Rutland Avenue several miles away in Sefton Park, with a large number of armed officers seen in the neighbourhood.

Locals said police arrived from about 1pm as officers went on to guard a terraced property as the immediate surrounding area was cordoned off. Around 11:30pm, witnesses said roads were being evacuated, with taxis and at least two minibuses arriving at the scene to take residents to alternative accommodation.

Shortly before 10pm Ryan O’Neill tweeted that armed police ‘pointing guns at the house’ gave him five minutes to pack and leave Boaler Street with his partner and children.

Counter-terror negotiators were also called to the scene and facilities for residents were being set up in a nearby leisure centre. 

Police early Monday said: ‘A large cordon is in place on Rutland Avenue in Liverpool and a small number of addresses have been evacuated as a precaution.

‘This is part of our ongoing enquiries into the car explosion outside the city’s Women’s hospital on Sunday morning.’ 

Footage filmed from the hospital showed the car burning fiercely as voices can be heard gasping in shock. A shocked man is seen holding his head in his hands before being led away by hospital staff.

Locals described hearing a loud bang and seeing smoke rising from the hospital grounds just before 11am.

Father-of-two Matt Kerr, 52, said: ‘I had just sat down to watch the Remembrance Sunday service as my family have served in the army when I heard a bang.

‘I did a double take and just wondered what it was. I looked out and saw smoke, then there were police everywhere and helicopters. It’s scary to think someone might have wanted to hurt women and children.’

Meanwhile around a mile from the Liverpool hospital, Rutland Avenue was cordoned off, with counter-terror officers and a 'negotiation team' at the scene. Locals said armed police, with dogs (pictured) ordered residents to leave, saying the area ¿wasn¿t safe¿ and were ¿pointing guns at a house¿

Meanwhile around a mile from the Liverpool hospital, Rutland Avenue was cordoned off, with counter-terror officers and a 'negotiation team' at the scene. Locals said armed police, with dogs (pictured) ordered residents to leave, saying the area ¿wasn¿t safe¿ and were ¿pointing guns at a house¿

Meanwhile around a mile from the Liverpool hospital, Rutland Avenue was cordoned off, with counter-terror officers and a ‘negotiation team’ at the scene. Locals said armed police, with dogs (pictured) ordered residents to leave, saying the area ‘wasn’t safe’ and were ‘pointing guns at a house’

Heavily armed police were seen at an address in Rutland Avenue near Liverpool's Sefton Park on Sunday night

Heavily armed police were seen at an address in Rutland Avenue near Liverpool's Sefton Park on Sunday night

An officer was seen holding a breaching gun used to blast the hinges off doors

An officer was seen holding a breaching gun used to blast the hinges off doors

Heavily armed police, one holding a breaching gun used to blast the hinges off doors, were seen at an address in Rutland Avenue near Liverpool’s Sefton Park on Sunday night as officers investigated an explosion at the city’s Women’s Hospital at 10:59am   

A police officer stands guard near the scene of a car blast at Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool this morning

A police officer stands guard near the scene of a car blast at Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool this morning

A police officer stands guard near the scene of a car blast at Liverpool Women’s Hospital in Liverpool this morning

An investigator wearing a white forensics suit and carrying a jerry can and funnel was seen outside the hospital. Two fire engines were parked in the hospital car park near a blue forensics tent.

An investigator wearing a white forensics suit and carrying a jerry can and funnel was seen outside the hospital. Two fire engines were parked in the hospital car park near a blue forensics tent.

An investigator wearing a white forensics suit and carrying a jerry can and funnel was seen outside the hospital. Two fire engines were parked in the hospital car park near a blue forensics tent.

Police activity in Sutcliffe Street in the Kensington area of Liverpool, where three men, aged 21, 26 and 27, were arrested last night. They appear to be focussing on a property next to the Sir Walter Raleigh pub

Police activity in Sutcliffe Street in the Kensington area of Liverpool, where three men, aged 21, 26 and 27, were arrested last night. They appear to be focussing on a property next to the Sir Walter Raleigh pub

Police activity in Sutcliffe Street in the Kensington area of Liverpool, where three men, aged 21, 26 and 27, were arrested last night. They appear to be focussing on a property next to the Sir Walter Raleigh pub

Armed police were earlier pictured at Boaler Street, Kensington, and Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park (pictured today) as officers closed the roads with vehicles and cordons

Armed police were earlier pictured at Boaler Street, Kensington, and Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park (pictured today) as officers closed the roads with vehicles and cordons

Armed police were earlier pictured at Boaler Street, Kensington, and Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park (pictured today) as officers closed the roads with vehicles and cordons

Residents were ordered to remain inside while near neighbours were evacuated but some of the locals appeared to be inside the cordon this morning (pictured)

Residents were ordered to remain inside while near neighbours were evacuated but some of the locals appeared to be inside the cordon this morning (pictured)

Residents were ordered to remain inside while near neighbours were evacuated but some of the locals appeared to be inside the cordon this morning (pictured)

Footage posted online showed a car engulfed in bright orange flames

Footage posted online showed a car engulfed in bright orange flames

The car was outside the maternity hospital in Liverpool

The car was outside the maternity hospital in Liverpool

Footage posted online showed a car engulfed in bright orange flames outside the maternity hospital in Liverpool on Sunday, 

The incident took place at Liverpool Women’s Hospital as a remembrance service involving scores of military personnel, veterans and civic dignitaries, was happening at the city’s Anglican Cathedral less than a mile away

The explosion took place at Liverpool Women's Hospital. A short walk from the Remembrance Day Service at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. There were three arrests at Sutcliffe Street in Kensington and a police operation at Rutland Avenue, where armed officers swarmed around a Victorian block of flats

The explosion took place at Liverpool Women's Hospital. A short walk from the Remembrance Day Service at Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral. There were three arrests at Sutcliffe Street in Kensington and a police operation at Rutland Avenue, where armed officers swarmed around a Victorian block of flats

The explosion took place at Liverpool Women’s Hospital. A short walk from the Remembrance Day Service at Liverpool’s Anglican Cathedral. There were three arrests at Sutcliffe Street in Kensington and a police operation at Rutland Avenue, where armed officers swarmed around a Victorian block of flats

Mother-of-one Emily Makefield, 32, said: ‘I was walking nearby when I heard a bang and saw the smoke. It’s terrifying this could happen at a women’s hospital. It’s shocking.’

Shop worker Sandra Hughes, 35, said: ‘I saw people being turned away from hospital and police everywhere. It’s terrifying to think someone might have wanted to attack a hospital.’

Social media was last night flooded with praise for the taxi driver’s heroism.

Stephen Thomas said online: ‘He is my mate, and he spotted the passenger acting suspicious. He’s in hospital, luckily he escaped just before, but he did suffer some injuries.’

Kev Cuthbertson also wrote on Facebook: ‘He is a hero, when he noticed the bomb he locked the scumbag in the car but took the brunt of the blast.’

Billy Darwin added: ‘I’ve heard he has injuries, so on behalf of us all on here I wish this Liverpool hero a speedy recovery.

‘He put his life on the line and nearly paid the ultimate price to save others – apparently not giving anything a second thought besides making sure he went above and beyond to keep the people of our city safe.’

Marie Davies said: ‘He stopped by the women’s hospital and locked the man in his cab after noticing the device.’

Phil Garrigan, chief fire officer of Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, said the car fire was ‘fully developed’ when two appliances arrived shortly after 11am.

He told reporters at the scene: ‘The operational crews extinguished the fire rapidly but as has been reiterated by the police chief constable, there was one fatality.

‘Another individual had left the vehicle prior to the fire developing to the extent that it did. Our thoughts are with them and the families of those involved.’

Counter terrorism police launched an investigation into the explosion earlier today with raids carried out and a bomb squad (pictured) on site

Counter terrorism police launched an investigation into the explosion earlier today with raids carried out and a bomb squad (pictured) on site

Counter terrorism police launched an investigation into the explosion earlier today with raids carried out and a bomb squad (pictured) on site 

A close friend of Mr Perry's told MailOnline the family believe the original target was the Remembrance service: 'The passenger asked David to go to the cathedral (pictured) so we believe that was the intended target. But they got stuck in heavy traffic so the passenger asked to go to the hospital instead'

A close friend of Mr Perry's told MailOnline the family believe the original target was the Remembrance service: 'The passenger asked David to go to the cathedral (pictured) so we believe that was the intended target. But they got stuck in heavy traffic so the passenger asked to go to the hospital instead'

A close friend of Mr Perry’s told MailOnline the family believe the original target was the Remembrance service: ‘The passenger asked David to go to the cathedral (pictured) so we believe that was the intended target. But they got stuck in heavy traffic so the passenger asked to go to the hospital instead’

Armed police were pictured outside two addresses on separate streets in Liverpool as officers closed the roads and residents were ordered to remain inside

Armed police were pictured outside two addresses on separate streets in Liverpool as officers closed the roads and residents were ordered to remain inside

Armed police were pictured outside two addresses on separate streets in Liverpool as officers closed the roads and residents were ordered to remain inside 

Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park (pictured) and Boaler Street in Kensington were blocked by police vehicles and cordons, witnesses said

Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park (pictured) and Boaler Street in Kensington were blocked by police vehicles and cordons, witnesses said

Rutland Avenue near Sefton Park (pictured) and Boaler Street in Kensington were blocked by police vehicles and cordons, witnesses said

In a statement, North West Ambulance Service said: ‘At 10.59am today we were called to reports of a car explosion [at Liverpool Women’s Hospital]. We were on scene by 11.04am.

‘One person has died and another person was treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries, before being taken to hospital.’

In a statement, the hospital, which was featured on the hit Channel 4 series One Born Every Minute and looks after around 50,000 patients a year, said: ‘We are reviewing our patient activity for the next 24-48 hours and patients should wait to be contacted for updates about any planned appointments or other attendance at the hospital.

‘Our staff are being permitted to leave and enter the hospital under the supervision of Merseyside Police.

‘We would like to say thank you for the co-operation and support of our patients, visitors and staff who have been impacted by this incident, in particular those members of staff who were at the scene at the time of the incident.’

Women were told to avoid the hospital over the next 24 hours unless directly contacted by staff and told to attend their appointments.

Counter Terrorism Police are leading the investigation, supported by Merseyside Police, a spokesman for the force confirmed

Counter Terrorism Police are leading the investigation, supported by Merseyside Police, a spokesman for the force confirmed

Counter Terrorism Police are leading the investigation, supported by Merseyside Police, a spokesman for the force confirmed

Police and firefighters were spotted outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital, alongside a bomb disposal vehicle

Police and firefighters were spotted outside the Liverpool Women's Hospital, alongside a bomb disposal vehicle

Police and firefighters were spotted outside the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, alongside a bomb disposal vehicle

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Army personnel were pictured at the scene in Liverpool on Sunday evening after an explosion killed one and injured another person seconds before the nation fell silent for Remembrance Sunday

Police attended the incident, along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Regional Ambulance Service

Police attended the incident, along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Regional Ambulance Service

Police attended the incident, along with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and the North West Regional Ambulance Service

Pictures taken at the scene show smoke billowing into the sky, while a video picked up banging noises while firefighters arrived at the scene

Pictures taken at the scene show smoke billowing into the sky, while a video picked up banging noises while firefighters arrived at the scene

Pictures taken at the scene show smoke billowing into the sky, while a video picked up banging noises while firefighters arrived at the scene

Source: Daily Mail

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