More than 10,000 specially trained riot police are being prepared for deployment in case simmering Brexit tensions bubble over into violence if the UK quits the EU without a deal.
The Daily Mirror reports that the thousands of seconded officers are “ready to hit the streets within 24 hours” of a possible no-deal withdrawal, with “1,000 available in the first hour”. Specialist teams including dog handlers and armed police officers could also be called into action if needed.
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Senior officers had originally prepared for Britain to leave the EU on 29 March, but “now face the prospect of a no-deal Brexit in just over a week’s time”, notes The Independent. Leaders of the National Police Coordination Centre (NPCC) say the delay has added fresh “complexity” to their operations and increases the risk of angry protests.
The authorities say there is no intelligence of any specific planned violence in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but that police must be ready for “worst-case scenarios”.
Rising tensions nationwide have seen 37 crimes directly linked to Brexit recorded across England and Wales recorded over the past two weeks. These crimes include malicious communications, verbal abuse, harassment, and offences committed at protests.
NPCC chair Martin Hewitt is warning “prominent individuals” involved in the Brexit debate, such as MPs, journalists and activists, to “avoid inciting anger” in the current “febrile atmosphere”.
“This is highly emotive ... I think there is a responsibility on those individuals that have a platform, and have a voice, to communicate in a way that is temperate and is not in any way going to inflame people’s views or cause any actions out of there,” Hewitt said.