LONDON, U.K. - An unprecedented security operation will swing into gear in the days before Prince William and Kate Middleton marry at Westminster Abbey. Up to 500,000 well-wishers are expected to travel to the capital to see the new royal couple. However, Police Senior Officers fear the occasion could act as a magnet for extremist groups which have been using a series of peaceful protests as a cover to bring carnage to the capital.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson (right photo) has ruled that no expense should be spared to ensure the wedding goes off peacefully on Friday April 29.- Commander Bob Broadhurst, who will be responsible for securing the wedding celebrations, said investigators have already swung the spotlight on those involved in Saturday’s clashes.
- He warned ‘different rules will be in play’ during the wedding and appealed to anti-establishment groups not to ‘spoil the party’.
- He said he did not want to turn the wedding into ‘fortress London’ but, hinting at a more hardline approach, he added that intrusive counter-terrorism powers will be used to keep a lid on any protests.
The wedding security operation is likely to be the most expensive ever staged in Britain, with thousands of officers lining the streets.A large number from Scotland Yard’s elite firearms unit will mingle with guests inside Westminster Abbey, with snipers at key locations along the wedding route.
- Among those hoping to cause trouble at the wedding, leading anarchists have held clandestine meetings with student leaders and radicals under an umbrella group calling itself Network X.
Among them are members of G20 protest organisers Meltdown, Whitechapel Anarchist Group, which infiltrated the student protests, and Class War, whose members have carried ‘Kill a Royal’ banners.
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