Police on alert for football terror threat
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Police are on alert for possible terrorist attacks on the European football championships in England this summer.
The security services of several countries whose national teams are taking part in Euro '96 have provided UK police with assessments of potential threats posed by terrorist groups based on the Continent.
Security chiefs fear the tournament could provide a platform for a group looking to make a political "statement". They are mindful of the recent ending of the IRA ceasefire, but are just as concerned about the possibility of foreign groups targeting the event.
Qualifiers for June's tournament include Spain, plagued for years by the bombings and shootings of the Basque separatist group ETA, and France, which last summer was subjected to a murderous bombing campaign by the GIA fundamentalist group, which opposes the French government's support for the military junta in its former colony of Algeria. Other qualifying countries with histories of terrorism or domestic turmoil include Croatia, Italy, Russia and Turkey.
Whitehall sources say the terrorist threat "pervades the whole thing". One source cautioned: "We cannot rule out the possibility that some terrorist groups would like to make some capital out of it. It's something the police have taken into account in their plans."
A working group made up of representatives from the police forces of all 16 countries taking part has already met to discuss measures to counteract threats posed by terrorism as well as hooliganism.
Further meetings are planned before the tournament begins on 9 June.
The possibility of terrorist attacks will mean thorough searching of the venue stadiums before games and extensive searching of spectators.
But the primary defence will be intelligence reports provided by the security services of the participating nations. Matches will be staged in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leeds and Newcastle as well as London, where the final will be held on 30 June.
Plans to combat the hooligan threat are well advanced, with a key role reserved for "spotters" - foreign officers travelling with their country's supporters to point out troublemakers to police. Known hooligans may be refused entry at ports by immigration officers.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments