Emergency alert test happens today – here’s everything you need to know
Tens of millions of phones will receive an emergency alert today as the government tests the system nationwide for the first time.
At 3pm, a distinct sound and vibration will be accompanied by a message telling people a new service has launched that will “warn you if there’s a life-threatening emergency nearby”.
It will last about 10 seconds, and Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has assured people they can simply “swipe away” the notification.
“Keep calm and carry on – that is the British way, and it is exactly what the country will do when they receive this test alert at 3pm today,” he said.
Ministers hope it will get the public used to what the alerts look and sound like, in case they need to be sent out in future during crises such as extreme weather, flooding, and fires.
Mr Dowden said “it really is the sound that could save your life”.
But critics have said the alerts themselves could put people’s safety at risk, including drivers who may become distracted and domestic violence victims who keep a secret phone.
Meanwhile, sports stadiums, theatres, and cinemas are among those planning how to guard against disruption to large events when Sunday’s test goes off.
The emergency alert will appear like this
The company that helped build the UK’s alert system has worked on the same techn for governments and mobile networks in other countries, and insisted it will be a “game changer” for public safety.
Everbridge has already deployed it in the likes of Germany, Spain, New Zealand, and Singapore.
Valerie Risk, vice president of public safety systems, told Sky News: “We’ve had church bells, fires, smoke signals; humans have been alerting populations for centuries in many ways and this is the next generation.”
How does the technology work?
The emergency alerts are broadcast via mobile phone masts and work on all 4G and 5G phone networks.
That’s different to how the government sent out lockdown orders during the pandemic, when SMS messages were sent directly to phone numbers.
It means whoever sends an alert does not need your number, so it’s not something you need to reply to, nor will you receive a voicemail if you miss it. No location or other data will be collected, either.
It also means alerts could be sent to tablets and smartwatches on their own data plans.
Anyone in the range of a mast will receive an alert, and they can be tuned based on geography – for example, Manchester residents would not need an alert about life-threatening flooding in Cornwall.
Manuel Cornelisse, Everbridge’s senior director for public warnings, told Sky News the tech had proved its worth in other countries, including his homeland of the Netherlands.
“It’s a very well proven technology with very strong, quality reach,” he said.
“And because it’s part of the very highest priority of signalling, the service will always remain available, even if a network gets congested when there is massive usage (such as at a sports ground).”
Read more:
How emergency alerts work in other countries
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‘The sound that could save your life’
Could it go wrong?
There have been instances of emergency alerts not going to plan.
In 2020, an emergency alert warning millions of people of an “incident” at a nuclear power plant near Toronto in Canada was pushed out in error.
Two years prior, Hawaiian authorities accidentally warned people of an incoming ballistic missile strike.
And Florida residents had a rude awakening this week, when a test alert mistakenly blared out at 4.45am.
The state has contracted Everbridge for its emergency alert system since 2016, and Governor Ron DeSantis has demanded “swift accountability” for the mistake.
Lorenzo Marchetti, the firm’s public affairs manager, said Florida’s system uses different tech than the UK’s, but acknowledged it is not immune to human error.
“We are investigating, it appears to be an unfortunate procedural error in the dispatching of the message,” he said.
“Sometimes these kinds of things might be out of the control of the technology itself.”
Ms Risk said the sending of messages is “very closely managed and regulated”, and mistakes were “very rare”.
Sending alerts requires high-level security access, and there is a confirmation prompt before any are sent.
‘Please don’t turn it off’
Incidents like those in Florida may give sceptics more reason to want to switch the alerts off.
Mr Dowden has urged people not to ahead of Sunday afternoon’s test, which will be sent from a national situation centre inside the Cabinet Office.
Roger Hargreaves, director of the government’s emergency COBRA committee, warned switching it off would be like taking batteries out of your smoke alarm.
He added: “The message that people get through this system is one that contains information that is useful to them, helps protect life and limb, sets out specific action we would like them to take.”
Will alerts be used often?
Ministers have insisted alerts will only be sent in “life-threatening” situations.
But those behind the system have seen increased adoption by governments in recent years, with the pandemic and climate-related emergencies increasing the need for fast and direct communication with the public.
The EU has introduced a directive requiring member states to have a phone-based public warning system.
Ms Risk said the tech will keep improving, with satellite the potential next frontier after being rolled out on some smartphones to help people get emergency help without any mobile masts nearby.
UK
More than 500 people arrested after Palestine Action protest – with almost half aged 60 and above
The number of people arrested after a protest in London on Saturday supporting banned group Palestine Action has risen to 532, police have said.
Around half of them (259) were aged 60 and above – including almost 100 people who were in their 70s.
Some 522 arrests were for displaying a placard in support of a proscribed organisation contrary to Section 13 of the Terrorism Act 2000, according to the Metropolitan Police.
As of 9pm on Saturday, the number was put at 466.
Membership of, or support for, Palestine Action is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years in prison under the Terrorism Act.
A rally supporting Palestine Action in Parliament Square. Pic: Reuters
One of the arrests took place as the Palestine Coalition march formed in Russell Square, while 521 were at the protest in Parliament Square.
Of those arrested, the biggest number (147) was in the 60-69 age group, while 97 people were aged between 70 and 79, and 15 others were between 80-89.
Six were aged 17-19, sixty-five were in the 20-29 age group, 55 were aged 30-39, 45 were aged 40-49 and 89 were in the 50-59 age group.
The average age of those arrested was 54, while some 263 of those arrested were male, 261 were female and eight either defined themselves as non-binary or did not disclose their gender.
Among the arrests, six were for assaults on officers (none were seriously injured), one was for “obstructing a constable in the execution of his/her duty”, two were for breaching Section 14 Public Order Act conditions, and one was for a racially aggravated public order offence.
People attend the protest in central London. Pic: PA
Hundreds of people attended Saturday’s demonstration in Parliament Square, organised by Defend Our Juries, with the Metropolitan Police warning it would arrest anyone expressing support for Palestine Action.
Anyone who was arrested as part of the operation was taken to one of two prisoner processing points in the Westminster area.
Those whose details could be confirmed were released on bail to appear at a police station at a future date. They were given conditions not to attend future demonstrations related to Palestine Action.
Those who refused to provide their details at the prisoner processing points and those who were found to have been arrested while already on bail, were taken to one of a number of Met Police custody suites.
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Charity Amnesty International described the mass arrests under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.
The crowd, sat on the grass inside Parliament Square, could be seen writing “I oppose genocide, I support Palestine Action” on white placards at 1pm, with the vast majority remaining silent.
Meanwhile on Sunday, hundreds of people joined a march on Downing Street to urge the release of those being held in Gaza by Palestinian militant group Hamas.
A scuffle broke out after at least two men shouted “Free Palestine” in front of the march.
One man was seen being bundled to the ground close to Trafalgar Square after being surrounded by around a dozen people.
Another man was seen being moved away by police officers after he began shouting.
Amnesty International says it is “deeply concerning” that police made 474 arrests during a Palestine Action demonstration in London.
Metropolitan Police said 466 were detained under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a banned group.
Eight more people were arrested for other offences, including five for assaulting officers.
The Met said it was the most arrests it’s made related to a single operation in at least the past decade.
Pic: PA
Organiser of the event, Defend Our Juries, earlier said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.
The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.
Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.
“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”
The Met said a “significant number of people” at the event were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action”.
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.
“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.”
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Palestine Action supporters arrested at protest
Police said those arrested had been taken to processing points in Westminster and any whose details could be confirmed were bailed on condition they didn’t attend further Palestine Action support events.
Others whose details could not be verified, possibly because they refused to give them, were taken to custody suites across London.
Pic: PA
The protests have put a strain on authorities’ capacity to cope.
Sky News understands senior leaders in the prison service, known as “Capacity Gold”, met today to discuss how to deal with the large number of arrests as the male prison estate is close to full.
It’s understood 800 inmates were moved out of the busiest jails in and around London beforehand.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Thinking of our colleagues and wishing all assaulted officers well. Remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers – just the same ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas. Officers are emotionally and physically exhausted.”
Read more: What does proscribing a group mean?
Legislation to ban Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
Defend Our Juries said earlier this week the protest would still go ahead, following several similar demonstrations since it was outlawed last month.
On Saturday, a spokesperson said: “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large.”
Pic: PA
Human rights advocates Amnesty International described the arrests of so many people under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.
Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.
The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of Palestine Action.
Pic: Reuters
Earlier this week, three people charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity were named.
Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.
The ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.
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