Labour conference disrupted after WWII training device found at museum

A Labour conference fringe event was taking place outside when police were called

The Museum of Liverpool was closed over a security risk (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

The Museum of Liverpool was evacuated and cordoned off by a bomb quad after a “suspicious item” was found inside, which was later discovered to be a Second World War training device.

Visitors were instructed to leave as a cordon was placed around the building, while a fringe Labour conference event continued outside.

Merseyside Police have since confirmed that the old training device was deemed safe and posed no risk to the public, with the museum reopening its doors.

A spokesperson said: “We can confirm emergency services were called to the Museum of Liverpool at the Pier Head at about 10.50am this morning after concerns were raised about a suspicious item found inside the building.

“On further examination the item was found to be an old WWII training device, which was deemed safe and posed no risk to the public.

“The museum, which was temporarily closed as a precaution, has reopened.We would like to thank members of the public for their patience whilst the incident was dealt with by our officers.”

Liverpool is currently hosting the Labour Party conference, where Sir Keir Starmer will launch his bid to become the next Prime Minister.

Outside the museum, Zoe Billingham, the director of think tank the Institute for Public Policy Reasearch, had been due to chair a discussion on levelling up alongisde two MPs and Steve Rotheram, the metro mayor of Liverpool City region.