The coronation of Charles III will be one of the “most important security operations” the UK has ever seen, the government explained on Wednesday, in an attempt to reassure the population following the arrest of a man outside the palace the day before.
More than 29,000 police officers will be deployed next week and over the coronation weekend, the Met said. “Our tolerance for any interruption, whether due to protests or otherwise, will be low,” police said on Wednesday, adding that it would be “one of the largest and most important security operations” in their history.
“We have been planning this opportunity for some time; the Met has a long history of monitoring such events and we will draw on our diverse experience,” said the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan.
The coronation of Charles III will be a grand ceremony this Saturday, with more than 2,000 people, including heads of state, kings and members of various monarchies, politicians and representatives of civil society, at Westminster Abbey, in central London.
Tens of thousands of spectators are also expected mallthe grand avenue that begins at Buckingham Palace, to watch the royal carriage pass by, accompanied in procession by thousands of soldiers in full regalia, for the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years.
The King intends to organize an event of a smaller size compared to the coronation of his mother, Isabel II, in 1953, or her funeral in September. However, the law requires an imposing security operation.
Dubbed “Operation Golden Orb”, the device to secure the route to and from the abbey will include rooftop snipers and undercover agents, metal detectors, sniffer dogs and a no-fly zone over the town centre.
Police will also use facial recognition technology on the street. “The watchlist will focus on those whose presence … would be cause for concern, including those wanted for crimes or with an outstanding warrant,” Scotland Yard said in a statement.
“We will have the largest one-day deployment of agents in decades,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said.
a detainee
This will be “one of the most important security operations” the country has ever seen, following the operation that resulted in the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September, who died aged 96, Secretary of State for Security Tom Tugendhat stressed.
“Our intelligence and law enforcement agencies are fully aware of the challenges we face and are ready to face them, just as the police did yesterday,” he added. Time Radio.
Late Tuesday afternoon, police officers arrested a man outside Buckingham Palace who had thrown objects resembling rifle grenades through the metal gate.
As a “precautionary measure”, police proceeded to a controlled explosion of a suspicious bag carried by the detainee and, although armed with a knife, stated that he did not consider the incident an act of terrorism.
Carlos III was not at the palace during the event, but hours before receiving Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in one of the monarch’s first bilateral meetings with his guests, who on Friday included Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Manifestations
The British royal family denied information that the event would cost around £100 million, a sum that has sparked several criticisms at a time when many Britons are suffering from the rising cost of living.
“I’ve seen different estimates, one weirder than the other,” said a spokesman for the palace.
“A national occasion like this, a major state event, attracts tremendous global interest that more than offsets the cost,” he added.
In addition to possible attacks, police will monitor protesters, environmentalists or anti-monarchists who want to “disturb public order,” he said, pledging “steadfastness” and “zero tolerance.”
“The right to demonstrate is fundamental and that will not change,” said a spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. But “we hope that the whole world will come together on Saturday” and recognize the coronation as an occasion of “national unity,” he added.
The anti-monarchy group “Republic” hopes to gather at least a thousand people to harass the royal procession in Trafalgar Square, but assured it would “in no way” harm its development.
Source: DN
