The authorities in Britain said they were preparing the biggest protective security operation since the 2023 coronation of King Charles III for President Trump’s state visit, deploying drones, snipers, mounted police and boat teams in the River Thames.
While any visit by a foreign head of state to Britain requires significant policing preparations, experts said that the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday, as well as the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump last year, has intensified the consideration of potential threats.
Mr. Trump is scheduled to arrive in London on Tuesday evening, before traveling to Windsor Castle, west of London, for a series of events with the royal family on Wednesday.
Simon Morgan, a former Metropolitan Police royalty protection officer, said that Mr. Kirk’s murder would cause the officials planning the operation to “double down” on efforts to ensure no position where a “shot could be taken” was left open.
“They will be seeking to control every aspect of the space, both in terms of on the ground and in the air,” said Mr. Morgan, who was a firearms officer in the Metropolitan Police for more than a decade. He protected the royal family from 2006 to 2013 and now runs a private security company.
“The planners will be re-evaluating all the high points to make sure that they’re covered to make sure that there are no gaps — no buildings, no rooftops, no fire escapes where somebody could get a line of sight,” he said.
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