SECURITY is set to be stepped up at polling stations on Thursday for the general election after the latest London attack on Saturday night – the third UK terrorism incident in three months.
Coventry police superintendent Richard North has written to city councillors stating there is no direct link to the Coventry area with the van and knife attacks at London Bridge and Borough Market in the capital, which killed seven and left dozens injured.
His message states: “The Metropolitan Police are leading on the investigation, and while West Midlands Police will support them whenever necessary, there is no direct link to the Coventry area.
“The threat level has remained at ‘severe’ which means that a further attack is highly likely. There is, however, no specific information an attack is imminent.
“From a local policing perspective we are reassessing all the public events planned in Coventry over the next few weeks to see if an uplift in resources is required.
“Clearly the General Election is something which we will form part of this review.
“Again there is no specific information that the election will be targeted, but it is likely there will be an enhanced visible police presence on polling day. This should not cause anyone alarm, but is being put in place to reassure people, and make they feel safe whilst exercising their democratic rights.”
His public message continued: “It just remains for me to repeat the advice I gave before. Please continue to be vigilant and report anything which raises concern or suspicion. There are many ways you can report – through local police on 101 or in an emergency 999, via the Anti-Terrorist Hotline on 0800 789 321 and online you can click on the red button on the West Midlands Police website to report online terrorist and extremist material.
“We must remember that acts of terrorism are committed by a tiny minority of people who do not represent the diverse communities that live in the United Kingdom. It is crucial that acts like those that occurred in London do not divide us, but we are still able to work together in combating all forms of extremism.”
