Brexit: 10,000 riot police readied for no-deal chaos

Largest reserve ever amassed in UK
peacetime amid fears of riots, looting and disorder

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The force – the biggest peacetime reserve ever amassed in the UK
– would be deployed to quell riots, disorder and looting in the
event of shortages of food, petrol and medicine, according
to The Guardian.

The Daily Mirror reports that the thousands of
seconded officers are “ready to hit the streets within 24 hours” of
a possible no-deal withdrawal, with “1,000 available in the first
hour”. Specialist teams including dog handlers and armed
police officers could also be called into action if needed.

Senior officers had originally prepared for Britain to leave the
EU on 29 March, but “now face the prospect of a no-deal Brexit in
just over a week’s time”, notes The Independent. Leaders of the National Police
Coordination Centre (NPCC) say the delay has added fresh
“complexity” to their operations and increases the risk of angry
protests.

The authorities say there is no intelligence of any specific
planned violence in the event of a no-deal Brexit, but that police
must be ready for “worst-case scenarios”.

Rising tensions nationwide have seen 37 crimes directly linked
to Brexit recorded across England and Wales recorded over the past
two weeks. These crimes include malicious communications, verbal
abuse, harassment, and offences committed at protests.

NPCC chair Martin Hewitt is warning “prominent individuals”
involved in the Brexit debate, such as MPs, journalists and
activists, to “avoid inciting anger” in the current “febrile
atmosphere”.

“This is highly emotive … I think there is a responsibility on
those individuals that have a platform, and have a voice, to
communicate in a way that is temperate and is not in any way going
to inflame people’s views or cause any actions out of there,”
Hewitt said.