Met police say there is no specific threat but warn people in capital to stay vigilant

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Armed police will patrol London on New Year’s Eve, along with covert officers and dog units, as part of Scotland Yard’s plan to meet any threat as people celebrate the end of a year marked by major terrorist incidents in the UK.

While the Metropolitan police said there was no specific threat, they urged people to remain vigilant. “The policing plan has been developed and reviewed following the tragic incidents that have occurred through the year,” Supt Nick Aldworth said on Thursday.

“We will have the right response of officers at the right locations; this will be a mix of overt and covert officers deployed, as well as dogs, and the use of CCTV and automatic numberplate recognition.

“People can expect to see armed officers in the area, and we will be using vehicle barriers across the event area. Security is paramount for us, and so we ask for patience and cooperation when getting through the check and search points.”

The UK was hit by a string of terrorist attacks in 2017, with the greatest death toll occurring at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester Arena, where a bomb blast killed 22 people.

London was rocked by four major terrorist incidents, including the attack on the palace of Westminster in March, in which PC Keith Palmer and four other people were killed, and an attack at London Bridge in June, during which three terrorists killed eight people before being killed themselves.

There was also an attack near a mosque in north London during Ramadan and another at Parsons Green station in south-west London.

Further afield, an attack in New York in October left eight dead, while terrorists killed 16 people in atrocities in Barcelona and Cambrils in Spain in August.



London is a hub for New Year’s Eve celebrations and security has been heightened in recent years.

Last year, there were fears of a mass-casualty terrorist plot targeting one of the country’s new year events after the attacks on crowded areas in Nice and Berlin. Revellers at the traditional New Year’s Eve firework display were guarded by 3,000 police officers.

This year, about 100,000 ticket-holders will watch the 12-minute event from the bank of the river Thames on Sunday. It will feature a soundtrack dominated by female artists to mark the centenary of women being granted the vote.

Scotland Yard advised people without a ticket for the sold-out event to watch “from the comfort and warmth of your home”.

A spokeswoman for the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “The safety of Londoners is the mayor’s number one priority. He and his team are in close contact with the Metropolitan police, [Transport for London] and other key agencies, and we have appropriate plans for security in place.

“We encourage everyone coming to the event to be vigilant and to report anything of concern to a steward or police officer.”