A new set of bollards have been placed outside of Buckingham Palace overnight, in response to the recent Westminster attack.
The Metropolitan Police have installed large yellow metal frames on the paved area which links Constitution Hill and Green Park; more barriers have also been placed on the Mall – like those outside Parliament, as a popular area of the city.
Barriers outside of Buckingham Palace. Hewitt/Splash
Scotland Yard assured that there was no direct intelligence of a threat causing the installation: “There is no intelligence to suggest a threat to these spots,” a spokesman said.
“It’s a security measure put in place but not in response to any threat. Buckingham Palace is obviously a high-profile area that is going to benefit from them.”
New bollards and barriers have been placed to the right of Buckingham Palace. Picture by i-Images
The yellow structures will prevent any vehicles mounting the pavement area – as happened in the attack on Wednesday – but will slow the flow of foot traffic at the tourist hotspot.
Following the terrorist attack in Berlin in December, the security surrounding Changing of the Guard was upped.
Security in the capital has been improved – London forces are thought to be operating at near double strength – and in other large cities, more police patrols have been noticed. Armoured bomb-proof vehicles have been spotted outside the Palace of Westminster; they can reportedly withstand an onslaught from IEDs, grenades and bullets from AK47 assault rifles.
