Joe Biden to ‘take over’ Queen’s funeral with huge security detail including 400 secret service agents and helicopter convoy
US President Joe Biden is set to ‘take over’ the Queen’s funeral as he will reportedly bring 400 secret service officers to the service next week. On Monday (September 19) more than 500 heads of state and foreign dignitaries will be in the capital for Her Majesty’s funeral.
Foreign leaders were asked to get to the UK by commercial flights and were told they would be taken to the funeral by escorted shuttle buses due to the tight security and road restrictions, Politico reported. However, government source have said he will not be subjected to the bus and will be allowed to take his car to the funeral for security reasons.
He is expected to take his 6,800kg bulletproof limousine, nicknamed The Beast, to and from Westminster Abbey where the funeral will take place. The 80-year-old is also expected to be one of the only guests to be allowed to fly over London in his Marine One helicopter, the Telegraph reports.
Two million people could descend on Westminster on Monday to bid farewell. The new Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley described the “massive challenge” during his first day in the job but insisted: “We will have a safe event.”
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Uniformed PCs will line the route alongside undercover operatives. Snipers will be stationed on buildings and army bomb disposal teams will be on standby as London is expected to grind to a standstill. Up to 1,500 soldiers will be deployed to help control the crowds and protect the hundreds of foreign dignitaries. Three helicopters from the Met’s Air Support Unit will be working around the clock along with firearms officers.
Sir Mark said after he was sworn in as the new Commissioner yesterday morning: “It’s a massive challenge for the Metropolitan Police and for me personally, but we have been preparing for many, many years. There are some very diligent and determined people who have put a lot of effort into this, and indeed myself in my previous roles in the Metropolitan Police. Five or six years ago I was involved in some of that planning and I have been involved in a review recently.
“But most of all I have a lot of trust and confidence in the fantastic police officers who are going to support this event and help make it safe. They’ve been working with colleagues from across Government, and the Royal Household and others. We will have a safe event but we will be putting thousands of officers into this because of the level of security required and the millions of people who want to pay their respects.”
Former head of royalty protection Dai Davies said: “This will be the biggest operation ever in the UK. I can remember Churchill’s funeral but that didn’t have the terror threat or the issues with protesters and fixated persons. There will also be huge pressure in terms of the sheer number of people in Central London. It will be a hugely complex operation. They have to work with the security services to risk-assess who is coming.”
