21 December 2010 Last updated at 22:09

Rome police: Metro train suspect package was not bomb

Police were alerted to the bomb scare, but did not close Rebibbia station

Italian police say a suspicious package found on a metro train in Rome did not contain explosives.

Bomb-disposal experts said the powder contained in the package, which was found under a seat, was inert.

They confirmed earlier reports that it did not contain a trigger mechanism.

Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno said: "It's a bluff, a provocation in bad taste that regardless showed there was no danger of attacks in our city."

He said Rome could "breath a sigh of relief", Associated Press news agency reported.

The black powder found in the device's metal tubes was "very much like cement", said Sgt Agostino Vitolo, a police spokesman.

Earlier, police said the device contained explosive material, while a city council spokesman said it had been "ready to explode" and could have been detonated by remote control.

Transport workers found the device when the train was beyond the platform area at Rebibbia station, in the Italian capital's outskirts.

Security teams were called in, but did not evacuate the station.

There has been no indication as to who might have left the device.