Preparations for New Year’s Eve in London are well under way, with barriers put in place ahead of the arrival of up to 250,000 spectators tomorrow night.
Some 100,000 tickets have been sold for the New Years Eve party on the River Thames, where revellers will watch the fireworks at the London Eye.
Wire barriers have been erected along London’s Embankment before the festivities begin.
Barriers have been put in place in preparation for New Year’s Eve celebrations in the capital, with London’s Embankment lined with the wire blockades
Fewer Metropolitan Police officers will be working during London’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, Scotland Yard confirmed — despite four terror attacks in the capital during 2017.
Superintendent Nick Aldworth said the police resources would be ‘proportionate’ and ‘appropriate’, and that those flocking to the sold-out fireworks display on the banks of the Thames would be safe.
Police officer numbers across the country are at their lowest level for 30 years, according to the latest Home Office figures, with the current UK terror threat level set at severe.
Barriers on Lambeth Palace Road have been erected around the capital to in preparation for New Year’s Eve
Mr Aldworth said: ‘We are providing a proportionate number of officers based on the threat, number of people coming, and the secure environment we’ve been able to build.
‘We have fewer officers policing here this year but they represent the appropriate number of resources that we need.
‘You’ll understand that the planning for these events is very, very detailed, it’s done by a very, very expert team. They’ve assessed the number of officers that we need.
‘People coming into London will see armed police officers, they will see other technical measures such as cameras and security notices, what they won’t see are some covert resources that are here to look after them.
‘But they can come to London in the certain knowledge that that operation is being led by one of the most experienced command teams that we have. It’s a safe environment.’
Revellers during last year’s celebrations, prior to the start of the New Year firework celebrations
Scotland Yard said ‘operational reasons’ stopped them from being able to discuss specific numbers on duty this Sunday. There were 3,000 at last year’s celebrations.
Police did reveal that there would be vehicle barriers, armed police, sniffer dogs, number plate detection, CCTV and overt and covert officers keeping the public safe in London.
Mr Aldworth said the public should be ‘reassured’ by the number of officers available.
‘I think the message I would give to the public is to be reassured that we’ve got the right number of officers to police this event,’ he said.
‘We want them (the public) to be alert, not alarmed.’
Last year’s celebrations saw large security fences erected on Westminster Bridge
The large barriers put in place last year. Scotland Yard have revealed that fewer police officers will be on duty in London on New Years Eve this year
A spokeswoman for 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, TfL and other key agencies, and we have appropriate plans for security in place.
‘Of course, we encourage everyone coming to the event to be vigilant and to report anything of concern to a steward or police officer.’
The news of the decreased number of police on duty during New Year’s Eve comes days after ISIS have made threats against the capital.
They released a video showing an explosion at Big Ben, a train coming off its tracks and a car hitting people in a street.
The video tells people to attack those at Christmas markets, clubs and churches.