The Christmas ring of steel
CHRISTMAS markets are being protected by intimidating ‘rings of steel’ amid heightened fears of a Berlin-style lorry attack.
Counter-terrorist police are on alert after intelligence assessments highlighted the extreme risk to festive shopping crowds.
Armed officers will be patrolling events in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh and Bath over the next month.
The attractions are also surrounded by heavy concrete barriers as visitors are asked to pass through metal detectors and search areas at entrances.
Local authorities have been warned to be extra vigilant as the terror threat level remains ‘severe’ meaning an incident is ‘highly likely’. Senior officers fear a lone wolf extremist could mount a ‘copycat’ attack similar to that on Berlin’s Breitscheidplatz Christmas market.
Last year an Islamic State-inspired fanatic murdered 12 people and injured more than 50 when he ploughed a lorry into packed shoppers in the German capital.
Organisers this year are being urged to consider banning lorries when venues are at their busiest and to ensure their vehicles cannot be stolen or even hijacked.
Some attractions are understood to also be contemplating using heavy vehicles and machinery as ad-hoc barriers.
Visitors to a Christmas festival in Manchester will be met with metal and concrete barriers as well as armed patrols.
And security has also been increased at the hugely popular Winter Wonderland in London’s Hyde Park with a phalanx of private guards supporting police.
The security services continue to grapple with around 600 live investigations into terrorist conspiracies with up to ten new inquiries opening every week.
Earlier this year the Government commissioned a review of how best to protect landmarks, buildings and crowded public spaces with vehicle barriers. But the conclusions, which remain secret, included an ‘eye watering’ potential bill believed to run into ‘hundreds of millions of pounds’.