Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Olly Murs claim about gunfire during London terror scare dismissed by police

Singer said in a recent interview that he stood by a series of dramatic tweets sent during a terror scare in Oxford Circus last year

Roisin O'Connor
Music Correspondent
Tuesday 10 April 2018 03:06 EDT
Comments
Oxford Circus Incident: What happened?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Police have dismissed pop singer Olly Murs' claims that there was a "cover-up" following reports of gunfire which sparked a terror scare in London during one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Murs, 33, was criticised for posting a series of dramatic tweets from inside Selfridges on Oxford Street on 24 November, which claimed he heard gunshots.

"F**k everyone get out of Selfridges now, gun shots! I'm inside," he posted amid the panic.

Despite police confirming at the time that there was "no evidence of any shots fired", Murs insisted in an interview with The Sun this week that there was something "murky" about what happened.

"I ran into an office after being told by the staff of Selfridges that someone was there with a gun," he said. "Whether they were shooting into the air, or whatever, something happened that day - whether it was covered up, I don't know."

British Transport Police, who were first to respond to the incident, have since rubbished Murs' claims.

"This caused a significant level of panic which resulted in numerous calls from members of the public reporting gunfire," it said in a statement.

"A full methodical search of the station and Oxford Street was conducted by our specially trained firearms officers. During the search, officers did not find any evidence of gunfire at the station."

It is believed that the panic was sparked after a scuffle between two men on a nearby Oxford Circus Tube station caused a stampede that left 16 people injured.

Murs said in the interview that he continues to receive abuse for his reaction to the terror alert, saying: "I get mocked every day on Twitter. Someone always has a little dig. Well, next time you're in Selfridges and that happens to you, I'll message you and say 'How was that? How do you feel now? You're not Mr Brave now are you?"

Piers Morgan, who criticised Murs at the time of the incident, tweeted at him after the interview this week, writing: "Oh stick a cork in it @ollyofficial, for goodness sake... NOBODY. FIRED. A. GUN."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in