London: Former British premier Gordon Brown had a lucky escape after pulling out of last Friday's anniversary parade in Nigeria, which was targeted by bombs that killed at least 14 people.
Former prime minister and the Duke of Gloucester, Prince Richard, the Queen's representative to Nigeria, were apparently warned to steer clear of the country's 50th
anniversary parade after a tip-off to British intelligence, the Sunday Times reported on Sunday.
Two car bombs detonated in the capital Abuja and a third, smaller explosion was also reported in which 14 people The Foreign Office confirmed that it had "received indications of a heightened security risk" and took immediate action to update its travel advice after the group thought to be behind the attacks, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, issued a warning on Friday.
"Security for VIP visitors is always kept under rigorous review. We remain in constant contact with the Nigerian authorities on this," a Foreign Office spokesman said.
William Hague, the foreign secretary, condemned the attacks as "cowardly and contemptible".
PTI
First Published: Sunday, October 03, 2010, 21:31