14 Tesco stores forced to close in bomb scare

Mark Townsend
London Observer
Sunday, July 15, 2007

Britain's biggest supermarket chain received a series of bomb threats yesterday, forcing the closure of 14 Tesco stores. Police launched a criminal investigation following the threats, which are believed to have been made by a number of people. Officers, however, said terrorists or extremists were not behind the safety scare.

A statement from Hertfordshire Police, where Tesco has its headquarters, said the stores were temporarily closed for public safety. At Tesco's Barrhead store, East Renfrewshire, Scotland, staff were escorted outside and sent home for the day shortly after 12.30pm. A worker at a neighbouring shop said: 'Police came and told us it had received a bomb threat. They suggested we might want to close.' Police refuse to comment on who was behind the scare. No one was hurt in the incidents.

Tesco stores in Lancashire, Suffolk, Dyfed Powys in Wales, Fife and Strathclyde in Scotland, Leicestershire, Humberside, West Mercia, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and London were affected. All are expected to open today.