Grand National re-run went ahead despite bomb warning

Merseyside Police yesterday confirmed that they received an IRA coded bomb warning on the day of the Grand National re-run, but allowed the race to go ahead.

Their decision not to evacuate the 20,000 spectators was the first time a major public event was allowed to go ahead in the face of a recognised coded bomb threat. Yesterday police said they had received one threat made in a telephone call using an authenticated codeword on 7 April, the day of the re-run. "After assessing ... the information given in the telephone call, it became apparent that the threat was untrue," a spokesman said. The 150th Grand National had been cancelled two days earlier after coded warnings led to 70,000 people being evacuated from the course. After a painstaking search, police found no explosive devices.