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The fourth suspect was arrested for police investigating a potential anniversary link

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After the police confirmed that the cause was a bomb, the explosion at the Liverpool Women's Hospital has been declared a terrorist incident.

Counter-terrorism officials said that passengers who were believed to have parked in a taxi shortly before the Memorial Day explosion had created an improvised explosive device (IED).

The Northwest Anti-Terrorist Police Chief Assistant Sheriff Russ Jackson said at a press conference that the motive has not yet been determined.

"Our investigation shows that an improvised explosive device has been manufactured, and our current assumption is that it was manufactured by a passenger in a taxi," he said.

"The reason why he subsequently took him to the Women's Hospital is unclear, and the reason for his sudden explosion is also unknown.

"Of course we know that a commemorative event took place not far from the hospital, and the ignition took place shortly before 11 am.

"We are currently unable to establish any contact with this, but this is a line of investigation that we are seeking."

On Monday afternoon, the Prime Minister will chair a meeting of the Government Cobra Emergency Committee to discuss the bombing.

Downing Street stated that senior police and counter-terrorism officials will attend the Whitehall meeting with ministers.

Mr. Jackson said the attacker was captured in the Rutland Avenue area of ​​Liverpool and was asked to be taken to the Women’s Hospital.

He said that an explosion occurred when the taxi approached the drop-off point outside the entrance, and the taxi driver "obviously escaped from the taxi."

The man hailed as a hero was treated in the hospital for his injuries and has now been discharged.

The fourth suspect was arrested in connection with the bombing on Monday morning. The 20-year-old man was detained in the Kensington area under the Terrorism Act.

Three other men arrested on Sutcliffe Street on Sunday are still in custody, and the police are continuing to search a house on the site.

Mr. Jackson said that the police believed that they knew the identity of the taxi passengers. He brought the device into the taxi but could not confirm it yet.

Senior officials confirmed that the arrested man is considered a "colleague" of the taxi passenger, and investigators are still checking the phone records and purchase records of the suspected bomber.

He said the police had "blame" the taxi passenger on the two addresses that the police had been looking for, but were not sure which address he lived in.

Mr. Jackson added that investigators found "important items" in a property on Rutland Avenue in Sefton Park, and eight families had been evacuated from surrounding houses. Take such precautions where explosive materials are suspected or found.

"Our investigation will now continue to seek to understand how the equipment was manufactured, the motive of the incident, and whether anyone else was involved," he said.

"We know this news will attract the attention of the people of Liverpool and Merseyside, as well as other parts of the UK, but it reminds people that the threat of terrorism is still great."

Earlier on Monday, the Prime Minister praised the taxi drivers involved in the bombings for showing “incredibly calm and brave”.

Boris Johnson said: "It seems that the taxi driver did act very calm and brave."

The Mayor of Liverpool, Joanne Anderson, said on BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “The taxi driver succeeded in his heroic efforts to transfer the absolutely terrible disaster that could happen to the hospital.

"We thank him and our emergency services. The authorities are working through the night to further transfer anything. We are all on standby and in contact to provide any support needed."

In a Facebook group used by a private hire driver in Liverpool, the driver's friend said that he "catch up with it" in time.

"He is a hero. When he noticed the bomb, he locked the scum in the car, but he was the first to bear the brunt," a man wrote.

"His ears were re-sutured, burns and shrapnel wounds and other serious injuries."

Mr. Jackson said he was unable to confirm the report that the driver locked the taxi door before the explosion, and the police had not received a complete explanation from him.

He said that this seemed to be an "ordinary" trip to the hospital.

The police received a report that a car explosion occurred at 10:59 am, shortly before the silence at 11 am on the annual Memorial Sunday in the UK.

Liverpool Women’s Hospital is not far from the city’s cathedral, where a memorial service was being held for thousands of soldiers, veterans and the public.

The annual event includes a two-minute silence, which is held nationwide at 11 a.m. on Memorial Sunday, followed by a military parade in the cathedral.

Police guard outside a house in Kensington, where counterterrorism officials arrested some people on Sunday

Courtesy of Carl Bessant/Reuters

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