Will there be a second emergency alert? Government blunder causes widespread confusion over ‘service test’

The UK public have been left confused following a government ‘website error’ which notified people of a second emergency alert test taking place today. A Cabinet Office spokesperson confirmed the information has since been removed from the site to avoid any more confusion.

The announcement reads: “There will be a service test of the UK Emergency Alerts system today. Most mobile phones and tablets will not get a test alert.”

The government initiated the first emergency alert test on Sunday, April 24 but not everyone actually received the trial alert due to connection and network problems. Due to this, many mistook today’s announcement as the real thing.

The Cabinet Office addressed the matter on Twitter, blaming media reports for the misinformation. It reads: “There are media reports claiming the government is testing the #EmergencyAlerts system again today.

“This is completely untrue. There are no plans to test system again.”

One user responded “why the hell did the website display it then”, highlighting the government website as the culprit. While other users posted screenshots of the ‘website error’.