UK police say they have planned for ‘every eventuality’ ahead of Trump visit
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Police officers conduct security searches ahead of the state visit by US President Donald Trump in Windsor, Britain, on Sept 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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LONDON - British police said on Sept 15 they had planned for “just about every eventuality” ahead of US President Donald Trump’s state visit this week, with the bulk of the trip being held out of public view.
Mr Trump arrives in Britain on Sept 16 for his unprecedented second state visit where he will be treated to the usual display of British royal pageantry, including a carriage tour and a lavish banquet.
King Charles will host Mr Trump on Sept 15 at Windsor Castle, west of London, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and a family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, before the trip continues on Sept 18 at Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Chequers country residence
Large crowds are expected in Windsor and anti-Trump protesters have said they want to make their views known.
The high-profile trip comes after last week’s killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, a staunch ally of Mr Trump, fuelling fears of a spike in political violence in the United States.
“I’m very content that we have planned a very comprehensive policing and security operation that has taken into consideration just about every eventuality of what could happen,” Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt of Thames Valley Police told reporters.
Asked whether Mr Kirk’s killing had influenced the policing operation for the visit, Mr Bunt said their plans were kept under constant review.
“Naturally we just reviewed everything... with our US Secret Service colleagues as well to make sure everyone was content with where we are, and that is the case,” he said.
Mr Bunt said there would be a significant, highly-visible police presence, although he declined to say how many officers were being deployed.
Airspace over Windsor and Chequers would be closed and specialist officers would be ready to deal with any protest that might take place, he added.
“It”s important to highlight that both the Windsor State visit and the meeting at Chequers are in the private grounds of Windsor and Chequers respectively, so there will be no public facing element,” Mr Bunt said. REUTERS
