Policing Minister visits NATO Summit site
6 Jun 2014 10:41 AM
Damian Green briefed on
policing arrangements for international
gathering
Policing Minister Damian Green
visited Gwent and South Wales to see how police and security preparations for
the NATO Summit are progressing.
The minister met Assistant Chief
Constable (ACC) Chris Armitt and received an overview of the planning operation
while touring some of the key venues such as the Celtic Manor Resort, where the
summit will be held from 4 - 5 September.
During the visit, the Policing
Minister and ACC Armitt discussed policing arrangements for the security of the
event and their plans to minimise local disruption.
Safe and
secure
Policing Minister Damian Green
said:
I’m delighted to have met
ACC Chris Armitt and his team to see first-hand the work they are doing to plan
for a safe and secure summit.
The NATO Summit is a major
undertaking for the police. However, this prestigious event represents a great
opportunity for Newport and Cardiff, and to showcase Wales on the international
stage.
I have every confidence in ACC
Armitt and all the police officers who will be involved from across the rest of
the country in delivering a successful event.
ACC Chris Armitt
added:
Gwent Police and South Wales
Police have a proud tradition of providing safe and secure policing for major
events and I have every confidence the policing of the 2014 NATO Summit will be
no different.
Whilst the safety and security
of the summit is important it’s no more important than the interests and
well-being of local residents. We will be doing all we can to ensure that any
local disruption is kept to a minimum and the policing service provided for the
rest of Gwent and South Wales is not adversely affected.
A joint Gwent and South Wales
Police team are leading the planning for the policing operation, although the
summit will draw on the expertise of police officers from across all 43 forces
in England and Wales, as well as from Scotland.
Gathering
The summit will be the largest
gathering of international leaders ever to take place in the UK. President
Obama, Chancellor Merkel and President Hollande are expected to attend along
with leaders and senior ministers from around 60 other
countries.
The summit comes as NATO draws
down from its longest-ever mission in Afghanistan and against a backdrop of
instability in Ukraine. It is an opportunity to ensure that NATO continues to
be at the forefront of building stability in an unpredictable
world.
Heads of Government from the 28
NATO member states and senior dignitaries from NATO’s 30 partner
countries will attend.
This will be the first NATO
Summit in the UK since the Alliance came to London in 1990 and the first time a
sitting USA President has made an official visit to Wales. In total, some 2,000
delegates are expected, along with an estimated 1,500
journalists.