FORTRESS BRITAIN
Hundreds of armed troops patrol key UK landmarks as PM warns another terror attack is imminent
‘All major events are now under review’ ‘Proper rules of engagement’
HUNDREDS of armed troops flooded the streets yesterday in unprecedented scenes amid fears a terrorist bomb cell remains on the loose.
After the terror threat was elevated to its highest level of critical, up to 1,000 heavily armed military personnel were guarding national landmarks, the Royal Family and nuclear sites.
Officers carrying SA-80 rifles walked alongside uniformed officers outside the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and other national landmarks.
The formidable ‘Fortress Britain’ operation freed hundreds of police marksmen to join the nationwide manhunt for suspected accomplices of Salman Abedi.
Police commanders fear he was at the centre of an Islamic State-inspired network, including a master bombmaker responsible for the powerful Manchester device.
The mass deployment came amid a huge lockdown, with tours and other events cancelled at the Palace of Westminster as it was closed to the public. A stone’s throw away, the Changing of the Guard in The Mall was cancelled and a victory parade by Chelsea FC called off.
In Scotland, all major events are under review by Police Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon confirmed yesterday. These include the visit of former US President Barack Obama, the Scottish Cup Final in Glasgow and the Edinburgh Marathon.
The First Minister could not guarantee that they would go ahead.
New security guidance has also been issued at several venues, including the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) which incorporates the SSE Hydro, Clyde Auditorium (Armadillo) and SEC Centre in Glasgow.
Officials have said people attending events should expect body searches, extra ticket checks and restrictions on bag sizes.
Manchester remained on edge, with shoppers screaming in panic as they were evacuated from the Arndale shopping centre.
Police arrested a man at the scene following reports a suspicious package had been found. He is not linked to the terrorist inquiry.
Meanwhile, a man with a knife was tackled by eight officers outside Buckingham Palace and a square adjacent to St Paul’s Cathedral was briefly shut down.
The operation to put armed forces on the streets was authorised by Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon at the request of police.
It followed a UK Government emergency Cobra briefing in which Prime Minister Theresa May was warned another attack remains ‘imminent’.
Experts at the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) raised the threat level to its highest ‘critical’ level as police battled to identify conspirators.
Known as Operation Temperer, the plan was drawn up more than two years ago by top civil servants, police chiefs and military brass.
It is the first time such a step has been taken since Tony Blair sent tanks to create a ring of steel around Heathrow Airport in 2003. The sight will stir memories of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, where soldiers were deployed from August 1969 until July 2007.
The threat level has only been raised to ‘critical’ twice since the system was introduced on August 1, 2006.
The first time came when police and security services discovered a plot to smuggle liquid explosives on planes.
The next year, it was raised again as police hunted two men who left car bombs outside a London nightclub and later attacked Glasgow Airport.
Armed police yesterday patrolled at St Paul’s Cathedral, which hosted the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at a service to mark the centenary of the Order of the British Empire.
Troops have been deployed at 12 MoD and civil nuclear sites across Scotland to free up armed officers, but they are not expected to patrol the streets.
Armed police officers, of which there are around 600 in Scotland, have been spotted at major transport hubs across the country. Gordon Crossan, president of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents, said there could be a wider military response.
He added: ‘If the critical threat assessment was to change because of new intelligence, for example, there could then be a national deployment of the Army.
‘That would potentially mean soldiers deployed to some sites in Scotland, soldiers could be seen on the streets, but that is a big step from where we are now.’
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick declined to say how long the military would remain on the streets.
Speaking yards from where PC Keith Palmer was murdered outside Parliament in March, she said the security services needed to get ‘a better understanding’ of the situation before the threat level could be reduced.
Former head of the Army, General Mike Jackson, downplayed concerns that soldiers on the streets could lead to violence or inappropriate responses.
He said: ‘Soldiers have the proper rules of engagement that they understand, that they are absolutely in support of the police.’