The police force in charge of law and order at the G7 summit in Cornwall has said it faces challenges ranging from the “tricky” business of liaising with foreign leaders’ security details to not wrecking people’s holidays – and stopping gulls from attacking their drones.
Devon and Cornwall police, which is leading the operation for next month’s summit, said officers, backed by military planners and intelligence agencies, would patrol from the land, air and sea to keep the event safe.
On Tuesday it allowed reporters to watch firearms officers going through their paces and drone pilots practising their skills as final preparations were made for the largest operation in its history.
Officers fired Heckler and Koch G36 carbines and Glock pistols in an indoor range at the force’s headquarters in Exeter. They will also have access to a range of other equipment including baton rounds, typically used in riot control, Taser stun guns, smoke and stun grenades and incapacitant spray.
The force said it knew of no specific threat to world leaders due to attend the talks, who will include Joe Biden and Boris Johnson, but its firearms officers were being backed by colleagues from across the UK.
Insp Greg Hodgkiss, of the force’s tactical firearms team and a national police firearms tactical adviser, conceded that the geography of Cornwall and the main sites, the coastal village of Carbis Bay and seaside towns of St Ives and Falmouth, presented “challenges”. He said: “Everything is being looked at.”
Asked about adapting to the needs of foreign security services protecting the various world leaders, Hodgkiss said: “I imagine it’s going to be fairly tricky but we have got a decent team involved and lots of planning has gone into it.”
Cornwall will be experiencing one of its busiest summers ever this year following the lockdowns and given the uncertainty of foreign travel.
Hodgkiss said: “A lot of the population are going to look to the south-west to come for holidays, so it’s something we have to factor in.”
Devon and Cornwall police said they were in overall command of the policing operation but were drawing on the expertise of other forces. “It’s a big combined operation,” said Hodgkiss.
Police said the airspace above Cornwall would be largely shut over the weekend of the summit and they were working with pilots of civilian drones, light aircraft and paragliders to make them aware of the restrictions.
Acting Sgt Chris Lindzey demonstrated one of the force’s 18 drones that may be called on during the summit to give officers on the ground a bird’s eye view.
He said the drones could be grounded by bad weather – and wildlife. “We do our utmost to avoid any nesting birds. Birds do sometimes swoop on our drones. If you are getting too much interest from wildlife, from a seagull, you give them respect and move out of the way.”
Activists are expected to disrupt the summit by blocking main roads into the county, trying to obstruct convoys carrying world leaders and perhaps even targeting a cruise ship that will be anchored off the coast as extra accommodation for police officers.
Resist G7, a coalition of groups planning to protest at the summit, said on Tuesday: “It is clear the summit will cause massive disruption. The police are likely to try and blame most of this on protesters. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Even if there wasn’t a single protest, the community would be faced with utter chaos.
“We didn’t ask for the G7 to take place in Cornwall and those of us who live here are angry about it being on our doorstep. Time and again the police are othering protesters. They want local people to believe that protesters are outsiders, coming to Cornwall to disrupt their lives. But in truth, many of those protesting live and work in Cornwall.”
