Yahoo News 1,000 troops on the streets after Manchester bombing attack
Major public events this weekend including the FA Cup final are having their security reviewed after the Manchester pop concert bombing, with thousand of troops on standby to guard them.
Parliament was closed to the public and the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace was postponed on Wednesday, as the UK’s terrorist threat level was raised to its highest state in a decade. Armed Police will also be deployed to the Chelsea Flower Show.
The Army said no date had been set to pull troops back to barracks after around 1,000 soldiers on Wednesday took on guarding duties at high-profile buildings including Parliament, embassies and Sellafield.
Cressida Dick, head of Scotland Yard and the country’s most senior police officer, said: “Colleagues around the country and in London have been reviewing with event organisers the security around all events.
“We are working closely with event organisers. We will be risk assessing every event. We want London to stay open for business. London is open for business. It’s our job to keep people as safe as we possibly can.”
The London premiere of the new Wonder Woman film has also been cancelled with Warner Bros saying the red carpet event on May 31 had been called off "in light of the current situation".
Army sources said troops would stand guard at key sites “for as long as necessary” to free up armed police officers for counter-terrorism duty.
Troops were on offer to help secure both the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final at Twickenham and the FA Cup final at Wembley on Saturday, but a formal request for those events had last night not yet been received.
A total of 3,800 troops are available after the Government triggered the Operation Temperer contingency plan as the UK terrorism threat level reached its highest level for the first time in a decade. A terror attack in the UK is now considered to be imminent.
Sir Michael Fallon, the Defence Secretary, said: “We are there at the request of the police and we will be there as long as the police will need this additional support.”
He said it was “too early to say” when the mission would finish.
Nearly 1,000 troops took up static guarding duty at locations including Parliament, Downing Street, embassies and Buckingham Palace, relieving 1,000 armed police.
The Scottish Government confirmed military personnel would guard 12 sites north of the border, including nuclear installations. Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria said troops had freed up armed police from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary to be sent elsewhere in the country. West Yorkshire police also confirmed it had requested troops.
Key articles | Manchester Arena explosion
Soldiers, armed with SA80 rifles, from the Parachute Regiment, Royal Artillery and foot guards regiments could be seen in London. Small numbers of Royal Marines and RAF police are also deployed.
As troops took up position at London tourist locations, visitors said the site of soldiers in camouflage, carrying rifles was reassuring.
Tim Baldwin, 53, a project manager at a finance company in Leeds, said the site of soldiers at Buckingham palace was “pretty welcome”.
He went on: "At first glance, it is a bit off putting. It is a little bit odd.
"But if something happened, it is reassuring that there is help there pretty quickly.
"It is a good deterrent really. I think it's there for both reasons - to deter and to reassure.
"Unfortunately, it's just the times we live in. But I would rather have that visible deterrent than nothing. We will get used to it very quickly."
Christine Millington, 63, who had travelled to London from Doncaster, South Yorkshire, for a day trip with a friend, said the presence of troops was reassuring.
She said: “It is a visual thing, and I think it makes you feel more secure.
"You cannot let it frighten you, all of this.
The Army said all troops were regular soldiers and had been given extra training to work with the police.
Gen Sir Mike Jackson, a former Chief of the General Staff, said: “It seems to me that the minor risk, in my view, of a soldier getting it wrong must be far, far less than the greater value to our security as a whole.”
