UK Protect issued the following statement on 29 November regarding the incident. The notice offers some advice to business in the aftermath. To keep up to date with official information, you should follow @metpoliceuk and for travel information see @tfl
There has been no change to the threat level: this remains as Substantial (an attack is likely) in the UK. The threat level was reduced from Severe (an attack is highly likely) only on 4 November. It might be easy to say – with hindsight – that the lowering of the threat level was premature with the death of al-Baghdadi (past leader of IS) and with a General Election preceding Christmas. Previous such events have often been marked by terrorist atrocities.
For those affected around London Bridge, the second terrorist attack there will be a painful reminder. Lessons from the attack in 2017 were a feature of a Resilience First briefing on 24 October 2019. A presentation from the Operations Manager at Better Bankside provided a perspective from London Bridge and Bankside on the implications of that attack.
Around 320 businesses were then affected by the cordon which lasted for 14 days, albeit in progressively smaller zones. Around £1.4m of business trade was lost in the first weeks, with approximately £10m over the longer term. Some lessons learnt were about: counting footfall, establishing a buddy service, introducing trauma packs, and having better and regular communications. The latter was the hardest of all the measures to apply and get right.
The trauma of being affected by a terrorist incident cannot be underestimated. This is why Resilience First will be launching a guide on the subject in the New Year.
For information on counter-terrorism measures and practices, see Resilience’s First Knowledge Hub. Examples of links include:
- Counter Terrorism Protective Network’s Anti-radicalisation Report, 2019.
- Pool Re’s Guide for small businesses affected by terrorism, 2019.
- NaCTSO’s Guide on Action Counters Terrorism (ACT).
- NaCTSO’s Stay Safe film.
- UK Protect’s Guide for protecting crowded spaces.
The MPS has issued Advice to the Private Sector and Local Events here.
In addition, there is here a useful leaflet on victim support.
For further reading, please visit our Knowledge Hub.
