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Hilary Clarke

With the UK’s political crisis over Brexit showing no signs of resolution, police chiefs have raised fears of growing of civil unrest and political violence, whether Britain leaves the European Union next week or not.
“We are in an incredibly febrile atmosphere as a result of the whole EU exit scenario,” Martin Hewitt, head of the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) warned on Thursday.

To cope with possible disturbances, a 10,000 – strong squad of riot police have been put on standby ready to be deployed in 24 hours anywhere in the country if there are disturbances.
At least 15 regional forces have restricted leave and others may have to work longer shifts and cut-down on non-essential policing in case the officers need to be sent elsewhere.

The NPCC controversially warned politicians and campaigners to be careful what they say so they do not inflame tensions.
“We think it is important that people that have that access to the public do understand the impact of what they are saying, particularly what they say may be perceived as giving permission to other people,” insisted Chief Constable Charlie Hall, the NPCC’s operations chief. “With some people as we know the boundaries aren’t the same as with people in public office.”
Details emerged earlier this week of a plot by neo-Nazi Jack Renshaw, 22, to murder 68-year-old Labour lawmaker Rosie Cooper in his plan for a “white jihad”.

Renshaw was only foiled after another member of the outlawed group National Action told the campaign group Hope Not Hate who then informed the police. A convicted paedophile, he also planned to wear a fake suicide bomber vest and target a policewoman, hoping he would be shot.
“I was to be murdered to send a message to this place,” Cooper told the House of Commons on Wednesday. “Members of this house are regularly abused and attacked. Our freedoms our way of life and our democracy are under threat and we must do our utmost to defend it.”
With other politicians reporting receiving threats, police have stepped up security as some claim they do not feel safe at home.
As the clock ticks towards the UK’s departure from the EU and politicians battle it out on the benches of the House of Commons, there are daily protests out side parliament from flag-waving crowds, and a number of journalists have been verbally abused and threatened.
Our freedoms our way of life and our democracy are under threat
Rosie Cooper, Labour MP
During last weekend’s pro-Brexit march in London, effigies of Prime Minister Theresa May and the London Mayor Sadiq Khan were dragged through the streets.
Far-right activist Tommy Robinson spoke to a crowd waving England flags in front of the Cenotaph in Whitehall, a monument to British soldiers who lost their lives in the last two world wars.
The potential for unrest is causing a major headache for the UK’s overstretched police force, which has been reeling from resource cuts made by Prime Minister Theresa May when she was head of the Home Office under former leader David Cameron.

Experts say the force would struggle to maintain a 10,000 rapid deployment force for more than a couple of weeks and other areas of vital policing would be neglected.
The NPCC call for more measured discourse followed national security adviser Mark Sedwill warning the government on Tuesday that an abrupt exit from the EU might have a negative impact on security.
“Our national security would be disrupted,” he was reported as saying in a leaked memo. “A ‘no deal’ exit would enormously increase pressure on our law and security authorities and on our judicial system.”
Brexit has left Northern Ireland’s Chinese community confused and divided, much like the rest of Britain
Neil Basu, Scotland Yard’s new counterterrorism chief said in January while there was no intelligence pointing to an increase in terror attacks after Brexit, there is the “potential to divide communities and set communities against each other”.
The government is also preparing for the possibility of renewed violence in Northern Ireland, where some say the reintroduction of border checks could threaten 20 years of peace.

Sedwill told the cabinet Northern Ireland could face “more severe” consequences than other parts of the country, particularly as there has not been a devolved government there for two years due to a political deadlock. He said a no-deal Brexit may require direct rule from London.
Hewitt said 1,000 police could be deployed to Northern Ireland if needed.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited Ireland on Thursday to reassure Dublin that Germany and the rest of the EU were trying to make sure “there is no disorderly UK exit”.

Finally, to back up the overstretched police force, the government has put 3,500 soldiers on standby under its Operation Yellowhammer plan.
But following the emergence this week of video showing soldiers in Afghanistan using an image of Jeremy Corbyn for target practice, and growing allegations of far-right infiltration in the army, that might not be enough to reassure everyone.


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Brexit

Brexit: UK’s top cops warn there may be violent unrest if there’s no deal with EU

Martin Hewitt, National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC). Photo: twitter

A soldier and an armed police officer patrol near the Elizabeth Tower, also known as Big Ben, in London, U.K., on Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Soldiers were on patrol at the U.K. Parliament and prepared to guard major sporting events, as authorities rolled out the biggest homeland deployment of troops in decades to prevent an "imminent" terrorist attack. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

A burning car sits between protesters and riot police in the Nationalist Ardoyne area of North Belfast, Northern Ireland, on July 12, 2012. Protestants of the ''Orange Order'' Brotherhood marched to commemorate King William III's military victory on July 12, 1690 over forces loyal to Catholic king of England James II. AFP PHOTO/PETER MUHLY (Photo by PETER MUHLY / AFP)

Mandatory Credit: Photo by Heathcliff O'Malley / Rex Features ( 1044241n ) A Marine door gunner on a SeaKing helicopter bound for FOB Shawqat in the Nad e'Ali district of Helmand Province British troops in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, November 2009

Britain's Home Secretary Theresa May arrives for a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron about cabinet positions at 10 Downing Street, London, Friday, May 8, 2015. Cameron's Conservative Party swept to power Friday in Britain's Parliamentary elections winning an unexpected majority. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Neo - Nazi Jack Renshaw. Photo: youtube

Pro-Brexit protesters outside the Houses of Parliament in London on March 29, 2019. Photo: Reuters

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A handout photograph released by the UK Parliament shows (L-R) Britain's Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster David Lidington, Britain's Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom, Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond and Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union (Brexit Minister) Stephen Barclay listening to statements after the government lose meaningful vote on the government's Brexit deal in the House of Commons in London on March 12, 2019. - British MPs resoundingly rejected Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal for a second time on Tuesday, plunging the country into further uncertainty just 17 days before it is due to split from the European Union. (Photo by Jessica TAYLOR / UK PARLIAMENT / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NO USE FOR ENTERTAINMENT, SATIRICAL, ADVERTISING PURPOSES - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO /JESSICA TAYLOR / UK Parliament"

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David Lidington, U.K. minister for the cabinet office, arrives in Downing Street in London, U.K., on Thursday, March 14, 2019. The U.K. is on course to delay Brexit and open the door to a radical re-write of the terms of its divorce from the European Union after recoiling from an economically disastrous no-deal split. Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg

Conservative politician Oliver Letwin speaks to the media outside Downing Street in London, Britain March 22, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

epa07452880 British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn (C) speaks to the press at the end of a meeting with the European Chief Negotiator of the Task Force for the Preparation and Conduct of the Negotiations with the United Kingdom under Article 50 Michel Barnier, in Brussels, Belgium, 21 March 2019. Corbyn met with EU leaders to discuss Brexit. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER HOSLET

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Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (right) and European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier arrive for a press conference at the federal chancellery in Vienna. Photo: AP Photo

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz adresses the media during a joint press conference with European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier at the federal chancellery in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Gruber)

European Union chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier addresses the media during a joint press conference with Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at the federal chancellery in Vienna, Austria, Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Gruber)

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Officials say there is the potential for communities to turn on each other and the cash-strapped police force will struggle with prolonged disorder


Officials say there is the potential for communities to turn on each other and the cash-strapped police force will struggle with prolonged disorder.


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Britain

Brexit: UK’s top cops warn there may be violent unrest if there’s no deal with EU

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Officials say there is the potential for communities to turn on each other and the cash-strapped police force will struggle with prolonged disorder

Officials say there is the potential for communities to turn on each other and the cash-strapped police force will struggle with prolonged disorder