Counter-terror police are investigating more than 100 reports of suspicious activity flagged to them by members of the public following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, it has emerged.
The period of mourning and the state funeral represented the biggest policing operation ever mounted in the UK, amid fears that terrorists would seek to exploit the event by mounting an attack.
An unprecedented number of armed police, many of them undercover, were deployed on the streets, while anti-drone technology was used to keep the skies above London clear.
While the period of mourning passed off without incident, counter-terror police have now revealed that they received more than 800 reports from people concerned they had witnessed matters of concern.
Matt Jukes, the head of counter-terrorism policing, said having sifted through the information, his officers are now actively following up more than 100 of those leads.
He said: “Reviewing current investigations and monitoring new intelligence has been absolutely vital in keeping the public safe over the last 10 days.
“By doing so, we have been able to take steps to ensure developing risk around places or people of interest has been responded to robustly.
“Communities across the country have played a crucial role. Every piece of information we receive has the potential to transform an investigation, create opportunity for an arrest or simply helps us build a clearer intelligence picture around someone, or something.
“After initial assessment, one in eight of the reports we’ve received over the mourning period are now actively being used as intelligence by our investigators. You are never wasting our time.”
Four charged with drone-related offences
Anti-drone technology deployed to maintain the no-fly zone imposed on the capital detected about 40 illegal flights. Police said four people had since been charged with drone related criminal offences.
With more than 100 foreign dignitaries and heads of state travelling to London for the funeral, the Metropolitan Police also deployed counter-terrorism specialist firearms officers, who are usually only seen when there has been an attack.
In the wake of the late Queen’s death, police also erected hundreds of barriers, gates and walls to prevent terrorists using a vehicle to target crowds of mourners.
Mr Jukes said: “It is difficult to put into words the scale of the policing operation over the last 10 days, it has been nothing short of incredible.
“Some of our activity will have brought our officers and the public shoulder-to-shoulder, other elements they won’t have seen, but hopefully they have been reassured by what they have witnessed.”
