£100m ring of steel in police’s biggest ever deployment

THE £100MILLION policing operation at Cop26 represents the biggest deployment of officers on record in the UK – larger than the London Olympics and the recent G7 summit in Cornwall.

An average of 10,000 officers from Police Scotland and forces around Britain will be on duty every day for three weeks, with the UK Government picking up the bill.

A ring of steel is being erected around the conference site on the north bank of the Clyde as security forces brace for threats to the heads of state in attendance and potential disruption from climate change protesters.

Specially trained officers will be deployed equipped with high-tech devices that can bring down rogue drones using electromagnetic pulses.

Police expect to make 300 arrests a day but sources warned if the number gets much higher, custody suites will be overwhelmed. Meanwhile, a report revealed last week almost half of Scotland’s police officers have experienced high levels of fatigue in the previous fortnight, which does not bode well for a three-week conference during which many will have to work 12-hour shifts.

Scotland’s lawyers have also vowed to boycott weekend custody courts amid an ongoing row over legal aid cuts. This means the justice system could be plunged into chaos by the sheer number of people arrested at the event.

President Joe Biden and the Pope are among more than 100 world leaders expected to attend the summit, which will also feature a rally in Glasgow that could attract more than 100,000 people.

Tens of thousands of delegates from 193 member states and four observer states will be present. The SEC will be policed by the UN – with Scottish police only allowed to enter if there is a threat to life.