BBC faces £5,000 bomb scare bill

[obiwanknobe]

Scary story. Perhaps some of you RMG bods can fill us in with some of the details. What has Swiss Post got to do with delivering a RM Package posted in NI and sent to Manchester? We ask what's in the package. Bottle and Camera are legitimate items. Do we have to ask if the camera is inside the bottle as well?

May the idiots be with you

Obi

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-ma ... r-23727511

BBC faces £5,000 bomb scare bill, says police commissioner It is understood the package was intended for staff working on the BBC's Panorama programme

A police and crime commissioner says he will charge the BBC for the cost of a police operation, after its "stupidity" resulted in a bomb scare.

Postal sorting office workers in Salford called police after spotting a parcel containing a camera in a bottle.

It had been sent from BBC Northern Ireland to the BBC North base.

Greater Manchester's police and crime commissioner Tony Lloyd said he would write to complain. The BBC said it had discussed the incident with police.

It is understood the package was required by the BBC's Panorama programme and was not part of an investigation testing security measures.

'Not right'

Mr Lloyd said the incident had cost police about £5,000 and "caused severe disruption to the emergency services".

He said: "I will be sending the bill to the BBC's director general - it's not right that the people of Greater Manchester should have to pick up the tab for Panorama's stupidity.

"There is a police investigation ongoing and it needs to run its course, but I will also be writing to James Harding, the new director of news at the corporation, as I expect him to carry out a full review of the circumstances."

A Greater Manchester Police spokesman said it was likely that posting a bottle would arouse suspicion.

The BBC said the package had been sent by Royal Mail - and not via the corporation's internal mail service - as it was needed in Salford the following day.

A spokesman said: "There was a stamp on the outside of the package that showed it had been sent by BBC Northern Ireland and it was addressed to a producer at the BBC in Salford.

"The package was referred to the police as it was believed it looked suspicious.

"Everyone acted in good faith and we discussed what happened in detail with the police."

Swiss Post Solutions, which runs the sorting office involved, declined to comment on the incident.

[fishtank]

What has Swiss Post got to do with delivering a RM Package posted in NI and sent to Manchester?

Swiss Post Solutions handle document processing for major private and public bodies including the BBC,they have a large Document Processing Centre at Salford Quays,It's just a guess but I suspect it was sent through us from NI to them and they would move it on to the BBC.
When it says it was addressed to a producer at the BBC in Salford it may mean C/O SPS.

We ask what's in the package. Bottle and Camera are legitimate items. Do we have to ask if the camera is inside the bottle as well?

It's not the fault of the PO but the sender,I might send a watch and 6 candles through the post,they are both legitimate items but you would expect me to realise that strapping them together with a few red and green wires I had lying around might be the mark of an idiot.

[obiwanknobe]

So its not the fault of the PO?

I wonder how long it will take for us to be blamed?

Are you sending any batteries in your package today sir?

No

Well that's OK then

The batteries catch fire on the plane and it goes down

The police find the culprit

Culprit says that I didn't ask him if he was sending batteries

How do I prove that I did?

You see now we have to ask we must inherit some responsibility in the matter.


WIll only be sorted when challenged in court.

May the questions remain with you
Obi