Savoy in London evacutated after bomb scare

The Savoy Hotel in London was evacuated last night after a bomb scare - on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

A member of hotel staff discovered a suspect package "smelling of bleach" and containing razor blades, nuts and bolts, and what appeared to be a timing device, in a service lift just after 10pm., reports the Daily Telegraph.

Around 400 guests, including a large number of American tourists, were evacuated while police used a bomb-disposal robot to probe the device.

Officers later declared the package a hoax and after around 20 minutes guests were allowed to return to their rooms.

Kiaran MacDonald, general manager at the Fairmont-owned hotel, said: "We found a suspicious object and called the emergency services who responded very quickly and made a determination that we needed to evacuate the hotel.

"We followed our very detailed evacuation procedures fully. Within 15 minutes, a determination was made that it was a false alarm."

Scotland Yard said no arrests had been made in connection with the incident.

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By Daniel Thomas

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