984 British Soldiers Confirmed Deployed
Almost 1,000 British soldiers have already been deployed since Operation Temperer was put into action Tuesday, May 23, following the Islamic terrorist attack in Manchester. British Forces Network confirmed that 984 soldiers had so far been deployed. Photographs published in The Sun show troops arriving across London.
Identified units include members of the Foot Guards, the Parachute Regiment and the Royal Regiment of Artillery.
British Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, was quoted in the Telegraph as saying:
We have now gone to critical level in terms of the threat. Op Temperer has been invoked and that means that there will be additional military personnel coming to back fill the armed police officers so that they can support other areas. Today we have 984 members of the military coming forward as requested by police.
Soldiers boarded coaches at Wellington Barracks, home of the Foot Guards, and were transported to key locations in the capital. The Foot Guards are the Regular infantry regiments of the British Army’s Household Division. The Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards are currently stationed at Wellington Barracks.
A large force of armed soldiers, including members of the 2nd Battlation, The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA), was seen marching into the Palace of Westminster. 2 PARA are part of the Colchester-based 16 Air Assault Brigade (16 AAB) and are recognisable both by their maroon Parachute Regiment beret and the blue DZ (“Drop Zone”) Flash on their arms.
At 13:05, Wednesday, May 24, Sun journalist Harry Cole tweeted a picture showing soldiers relieving armed police at sentry boxes outside the Houses of Parliament. Guardsmen in battle dress and armed with assault rifles rapidly deployed from nearby Wellington Barracks to guard Buckingham Palace. Soldiers were also seen outside No. 10 Downing Street and soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Artillery were patrolling Whitehall.
The 1st Battalion, The Irish Guards, were stationed outside the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall in support of Ministry of Defence Police. Since June 2015, the Irish Guards have been based at the Cavalry Barracks, Hounslow.
The Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace has been cancelled to allow police to be used in counter-terrorism operations.
Soldiers have also been sent to Sellafield nuclear power plant in Cumbria.
In Scotland, soldiers have been deployed to guard 12 Ministry of Defence locations and civilian nuclear sites.
Soldiers from the Royal Marines and the RAF Regiment are also expected to take part in Operation Temperer.
The Ministry of Defence Twitter account and others are already using the #OpTemperer hashtaq to allow people to follow the deployment.
Operation Temperer: Updates
Merseyside Police Supported by Civil Nuclear Constabulary
As part of Operation Temperer, Merseyside Police have since Thursday, May 25, received armed support from officers from the Civil Nuclear Constabulary (CNC). The CNC is a special armed police force responsible for providing law enforcement and security at or within 5 km of any relevant nuclear site and for nuclear materials in transit within the United Kingdom. The CNC is one of the three special police forces of the United Kingdom, the others being the British Transport Police, and Ministry of Defence Police.
CNC officers will be deployed alongside Merseyside police officers at nominated sites to provide additional protective security and are currently scheduled to provide support until June 1.
British Army On Guard at the Atomic Weapons Establishment
As part of Operation Temperer, soldiers have been deployed to Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) sites in Aldermaston and Burghfield in Hampshire, as reported in the Basingstoke Gazette.
AWE is responsible for the design, manufacture and support of nuclear warheads for the United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent. It is the successor to the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) with its main site on the former RAF Aldermaston and has major facilities at Burghfield, Blacknest and RNAD Coulport.
The AWE Aldermaston site makes Britain’s Trident nuclear warheads and stores nuclear waste from Royal Navy nuclear submarines.
A statement from AWE said:
This is a precautionary measure so that if the on-site police are requested to deploy officers away from AWE, in support of national security, the Army will step into those roles. Army personnel will only be used in roles for which they are already suitably trained, and neither safety nor security at AWE will be compromised at any time.
Image: British Army, Crown Copyright, 2013.