A 'suspicious powder' delivered in an envelope to a city centre office block was 'non-toxic', police have confirmed.
Piccadilly Gate on Store Street was evacuated as a precaution after the incident at around 2.30pm yesterday (Monday).
A huge emergency service presence was sparked and the road was closed off.
A GMP spokesperson said yesterday that 'an unknown white power had been delivered' to the office block.
Today (Tuesday), the force said that tests have confirmed that the power was 'non-toxic' and 'non-hazardous'.
Enquiries remain ongoing.
People were asked to avoid the area yesterday afternoon as Store Street was taped off between London and Jutland Street.
Kirrien Wilson, 28, who runs his own delivery firm, was cycling through the city centre when he came across the scene.
He told the M.E.N the alert was focused on the Department for Education offices at Piccadilly Gate.
He said: "I was just cycling past London Road and I saw the incident response unit.
"There were four or five ambulances there as well, police and the fire brigade.
"The alarm on the building was going off and staff had been evacuated into the car park.
"The last time I saw something like this it was an anthrax alert in London."
A spokesperson for the Department for Education declined to comment on the incident.
