Police op to stay in place for holiday

ARMED officers will remain on streets in Wales over the bank holiday weekend following the announcement that the UK terrorism threat has been reduced from critical to severe, police forces have said.

Prime Minister Theresa May announced yesterday that the threat level had been reduced, which means the likelihood of an attack has been reduced to highly likely, rather than imminent.

Following the announcement, assistant chief constable of South Wales Police, Richard Lewis, right, said the deployment of additional officers across south Wales will remain in place over the bank holiday weekend. He added that this will continue to be reviewed next week to “ensure maximum visibility of both armed and unarmed officers across the force area”.

The full statement read: “This morning, Prime Minister Theresa May announced that the UK terrorism threat level has been reduced from critical to severe. The change indicates an attack is highly likely, not imminently expected.

“Operation Temperer, the deployment of additional officers across South Wales, will remain in place until the Bank Holiday weekend concludes. This means that the public will continue to see additional overtly armed officers at key locations and on the streets of South Wales over the next few days.

“As we move into next week we will continue to review our deployments to ensure maximum visibility of both armed and unarmed officers across the force area.

“Our priority is to maintain a visible and reassuring presence in our communities, and we are doing all that we can to continue to provide the response our communities would expect in order to keep them safe.

“We ask our communities to be vigilant and to report any concerns they may have to the confidential Anti-Terrorism Hotline on 0800 789321. In an emergency, always call 999. In addition, you can report suspicious activity online here: https://beta. met.police.uk/tell-us-about/possible-terrorist-activity/report-possible-terrorist-activity/”

Assistant chief constable of Dyfed Powys Police, Liane James issued the same statement for the Dyfed Powys force area.