Emergency alert test – live: Second alarm shock as investigation launched

It was a patchy launch for the test of the government’s new emergency alert system, with reports of some users being woken up by the booming alarm in the early hours of Monday morning.

While the alert was scheduled to go out at 3pm on Sunday, some people said they did not receive the notification, while others reported the alert arriving early or late.

One mobile user told The Independent they had not received the alert on Sunday afternoon, but 2.30am on Monday.

Britons have been advised to “keep calm and carry on” when a test emergency alert is sent to their mobile phones later today.

Officials from the Cabinet Office National Situation Centre will send out the alert at 3pm and it will be received by every 4G and 5G device across the United Kingdom.

People are being urged to remember that the alert is a test, similar to a one-off fire alarm drill, and no action is required when they receive the test.

Oliver Dowden, deputy prime minister and chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “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.

“The government’s number one job is to keep people safe and this is another tool in the toolkit for emergency situations, such as flooding or wildfires, and where there is a genuine risk to life. So it really is the sound that could save your life.”

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Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, denied the testing of a new emergency national alert system on Sunday was an example of so-called nanny statism.

After the criticism was put to him on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Dowden said: “I wouldn’t accept that characterisation.

“If you look at countries around the world, whether it is the United States, Canada, Japan and elsewhere, they have emergency alerts on phones as another tool in the toolkit of keeping people alerted during an emergency.”

Mr Dowden said the test of the system was a “bit like when the fire alarm goes off at work”.

He said: “It can be a bit inconvenient and annoying.

“I think, in future, people will be grateful that we tested the system and what I would say is that at 3pm, when this siren — which I should say is about the volume of a phone call going off — goes off, you don’t need to do anything.

“It is just a test.”

Alexis Strum writes:

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you will know that the UK government has decided to test its emergency alert system this Sunday, 23 April, at 3pm, by sending a message accompanied by a loud siren-like sound and/or vibration to all 4G and 5G mobile phones in the UK. The sound and message will apparently last for 10 seconds (note: the alert will not work on older phone models).

‘Understandably, the domestic abuse charity Women’s Aid, for which I am a survivor ambassador, has picked up on the potential risk these alerts pose to victims of domestic abuse. It’s a particular concern for those who might still be living with their abuser and may have a concealed (or “burner”) phone for their safety. A loud alert sound blaring from a previously concealed phone could result in immediate exposure and put them in serious danger from their perpetrator.

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The public have been assured they can “simply swipe away” a test of a new public alert system when it emits a loud alarm on millions of phones on Sunday.

“I would encourage people to remember that today it is just a test; there is no need to take any action and you can simply swipe it away as you would any other message you receive,” said the new deputy PM Oliver Dowden.

An emergency planning expert has urged people to turn their phones off if the alert could put them at risk.

“I’m sure it could help save lives but it is very important for those who might be at risk because of their phone going off – for example, if someone is in an abusive relationship and have got a secret mobile phone in order to get help – they need to switch their phone off,” Emergency Planning Society director Reverend Peter Cheesman told Sky News.

“Otherwise their phone might be discovered. And obviously when you receive the alert this afternoon, whatever you’re doing, make sure that it’s safe and legal to stop and read what the message says and respond to it.

The new alert system can be “very localised if necessary” and is very unlikely to be deployed nationally outside of test conditions, an expert has said.

“If you’re in an area, for example, where you had a moorland fire last year in the summer, you’re more likely to have an alert for that,” said Emergency Planning Society director Reverend Peter Cheesman.

“It depends on the local hazards, if you like, because although it’s a national system, it’ll be operated locally. And it can be very localised if necessary.”

“We can never be too prepared for emergencies, we need to be properly prepared for emergencies,” he told Sky News, adding: “Although this is a national scheme it’s very unlikely that there will be a national alert for the whole country at the same time. So it will be localised.”

Earlier this week, Tory backbencher Jacob Rees-Mogg used his GB News show to declare that he had disabled the alert system on his phone, undermining government pleas to the contrary.

Describing the alert as “part of the nanny state”, the former minister claimed he had turned the function off “because I think it will end up being used in the way the Met Office gives us warnings to tell us the blindingly obvious.

“That is to say, that the weather’s going to be hot and perhaps we should have a glass of water, or there may be a storm and it may not be wise to go out, or it may be cold and we should wrap up warmly.

“I don’t think that that is why we have telephones. I think we have them as a service that we want to use, that we want to pay for to communiate with people. Not to be shouted at by the government that it’s maybe trivial.”

The test on St George’s Day coincides with major events including the London Marathon and the 2pm kick-off Premier League ties between Bournemouth and West Ham and Newcastle and Tottenham Hotspur.

Officials said they have worked with the Football Association and the Marathon’s organisers to make sure the impact of the test will be limited.

The National Fire Chiefs’ Council have urged people “to play their part” in the emergency alert test.

Chief fire officer Alex Woodman said: “We must use every tool at our disposal to keep people safe, and we need everyone to play their part, and the new Emergency Alerts system is one way we can do this.

“For 10 seconds, the national test may be inconvenient for some, but it’s important, because the next time you hear it, your life, and the life-saving actions of our emergency services, could depend on it.”