Security to be raised at top events
Armed officers on duty at Wembley football finals Families warned they are at risk of terrorist attack
Families attending sporting events were last night warned they were especially vulnerable to the kind of terrorist atrocity to strike Manchester as security was ramped up at venues across the country following the attack.
Reviews were under way into the policing of some of the biggest occasions in the sporting calendar in the wake of Monday night’s suicide bombing of an Ariana Grande concert that left 22 people dead, including a number of children.
Armed police were poised to be deployed at Saturday’s FA Cup and Scottish Cup finals, as well as Monday’s Championship play-off final, with additional officers expected to be on patrol for England’s one-day international against South Africa at Headingley today. The Prime Minister also announced last night that military personnel might support police at public events.
The International Cricket Council confirmed it was reassessing the policing of the Champions Trophy – which begins a week tomorrow at the Oval – and Women’s World Cup, while fans attending rugby’s Premiership final on Saturday and the England versus Barbarians match on Sunday were urged to avoid bringing bags to Twickenham.
The All England Club, which conducted an unprecedented security operation at last year’s Wimbledon Championships, vowed to take “any appropriate measures” to ensure the safety of this summer’s event and Surrey Police confirmed armed officers would patrol next month’s Derby at Epsom.
Friday’s Greatcity Games in Manchester will go ahead and a decision on Sunday’s Great Manchester Run is expected today. Ticket sales were suspended for the Vitality Netball Superleague Final Four on June 10-11 at the Manchester Arena, which was still a crime scene last night. Terrorism and security experts claimed the perpetrator of Monday night’s atrocity had deliberately targeted parents and children as they left the venue to inflict the maximum possible carnage and foster the greatest amount of fear while avoiding detection.
David Videcette, a former counter-terror detective who helped lead the police’s response to 7/7, told The Daily Telegraph there was an “extremely high risk” of a sporting event being similarly targeted.
“You’ve only got to go to any stadium or any sporting event and look at the way that people spill out onto the streets and the way they disperse and move about after the event’s finished,” he said. Videcette urged the authorities to extend the security cordon around sporting venues when they are in use, as is standard practice during Olympic Games, World Cups and European Championships and will be the case for the Champions League final in Cardiff a week on Saturday.
The Football Association confirmed an “enhanced security operation” would be in force for the FA Cup final and all other forthcoming events at Wembley. For the Cup final, which will be attended by the Duke of Cambridge, it is understood that will include the deployment of armed police, who were also on duty during March’s England-lithuania match just days after the Westminster terror attack.
Police Scotland confirmed there were “likely” to be similar scenes at Saturday’s Scottish Cup final at Hampden, with security for next month’s Scotland-england World Cup qualifier there also under review. It was already at maximum for tonight’s Europa League final in Stockholm between Manchester United and Ajax and the Champions League final in Cardiff, where police will pilot new facial recognition technology as part of the city’s biggest security operation.
South Africa’s cricket team are due to stay at a hotel within walking distance of the Manchester Arena when they play England in July’s fourth Test at Old Trafford. Team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee said they had decided not to abandon their tour. He added: “If this had happened in any other country in the world, that is the first question people would ask: is the tournament at risk? Is the series at risk? Will the Champions Trophy take place?”