Keeping London safe for Queen's funeral an 'enormous' challenge, says U.K. counter-terrorism expert

With hundreds of thousands of people expected to line the streets of London for a ceremonial procession on Wednesday, a former U.K. counter-terrorism co-ordinator warned that the security challenges around the Queen's funeral are "enormous."

In addition to the large crowds that will gather Wednesday when Queen Elizabeth's coffin moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall — where the former monarch will lie in state until Sept. 19 — officials are dealing with the logistics of holding a funeral that will be attended by hundreds of world leaders and dignitaries. 

"I think that is a different quantum of risk," said Nick Aldworth, who held many top jobs during his three-decade career as a public security official, including head of security and policing at the British Parliament, managing security for the Queen Mother and firearms co-ordinator for the 2012 London Olympics.

Aldworth, who is now a private consultant, says the 2012 Games presented a major security challenge, but the Queen's mourning period and state funeral is even more complex.

"The difference between the Olympics and this event is the Olympics are spread over three weeks," Aldworth told CBC from his home in North Oxfordshire, England.

The Queen's funeral is "probably the same number of people, the same number of visiting dignitaries, compressed into a few days."

The U.K.'s current terror threat level is "substantial," meaning that an attack is likely, and thousands of extra officers will be deployed for the events in London over the next six days. 

Aldworth, who was appointed the U.K.'s counter-terrorism national co-ordinator in 2018, says the area where the Queen will lie in state already has semi-permanent security measures, like barriers to prevent vehicles from driving into crowds.

Many roads between Buckingham Palace and Westminster Hall have been closed off to traffic and metal fencing has been put up.

Great Britain has seen a series of deadly attacks, including IRA bombings in the 1980s and '90s that in some cases targeted politicians and military personnel. More recent attacks include the 2017 London bridge attack and the Manchester arena bombing, but Aldworth says police also have a "long history of disrupting terrorism."

"The reassurance that people should take is that this central footprint where most of the [mourning] activity is taking place will be incredibly well-protected," he said.

Police have faced some criticism over the arrest of three people in Edinburgh for breaches of the peace, as they protested the monarchy while the Queen's coffin was moved around Scotland. 

After a man was questioned by officers in London for holding up a blank piece paper on which he said he wanted to write "Not my king," the Met Police put out a statement saying that the public have a right to protest. 

Aldworth says one challenge will be managing the transportation system, given how many people from outside central London are expected to descend on the area.