Off-duty police told not to wear their uniforms
Fears over Lee Rigby copycat attack on officers
POLICE were warned yesterday not to wear their uniforms in public when they are off duty, amid fresh fears of a Lee Rigby-style attack in Britain.
Officers were also told not to tell strangers they work for the police to protect them and their families from a jihadi attack.
Last night police also promised extra security measures to protect today’s Armed Forces Day events and the gay pride festival in London.
The Met Police’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Helen Ball, said: ‘Our priority is to keep people safe and we continue to review our ability to prevent and respond to terrorist incidents and potential threats.
‘And as we approach a weekend of large public celebrations around the country, including Armed Forces Day events and Pride London, we will be putting in place additional security measures to help protect and reassure the public.’
Armed Forces Day is the annual commemoration of the service of men and women in the Army, Navy and RAF.
The guidance for officers came amid growing fears Britain could see a bloody terrorist attack such as those in Tunisia, Kuwait and France yesterday.
Security sources said Islamist fanatics are determined to carry out an atrocity against a police officer or another member of the Armed Forces.
Last night Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond chaired a meeting of police and security officials at the government’s emergency committee, Cobra.
An official said the meeting considered the ‘impact overseas and the impact domestically’ of the spate of atrocities.
It is feared the attacks are linked to a message broadcast by Islamic State in calling for Muslims to make the month of Ramadan one of ‘calamity for the infidels’. The message, broadcast by IS representative Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, called for ‘calamity for the infidels … Shi’ites and apostate Muslims’. Whitehall officials warned the threat level in Britain was likely to remain at severe – meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’.
David Cameron said the attacks could have happened ‘anywhere’ in the EU, as he condemned the terrorists’ ‘twisted and perverted ideology’.
Speaking in Brussels, where he talked briefly to French president Francois Hollande about the ‘appalling’ attack in Grenoble, the Prime Minister said: ‘We have to combat not only the terrorism, not only working with the countries that are suffering, but dealing with this poisonous mindset, this death cult that is poisoning young minds and turning them to this path of mindless violence.
‘People who do these things sometimes say they do it in the name of Islam. They don’t. Islam is a religion of peace.
‘They do it in the name of a twisted and perverted ideology that we have to confront with everything that we have.’ But Mr Cameron suggested Europe remained too complacent about the deadly threat posed by Islamist extremists. British officials said he was frustrated that longstanding plans to force airlines to collect and share data on passengers flying into the EU are still ‘stuck in the European Parliament’.
Meanwhile, two security advice booklets were distributed to all forces yesterday morning by the College of Policing.
They advised officers and staff to cover up their uniforms when travelling to work and when leaving stations or offices.
The guidance – long in planning – was drawn up by Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure. The timing of its launch was not directly linked to yesterday’s attacks.
The advice to police follows advice that British soldiers should not wear their uniform outside barracks. They have also been told not to let strangers know that they are in the Army.
That instruction was issued after Whitehall officials noticed increased ‘ chatter’ among jihadists wanting to carry out a beheading or other high-profile attack on a serving soldier.
Fusilier Lee Rigby was murdered by Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale near his barracks in Woolwich, southeast London, in May 2013.
‘EU remains complacent’