LONDON — The outpouring of public mourning and affection for Queen Elizabeth II is taking place against the backdrop of an “unprecedented” security operation that is only expected to grow larger as world leaders arrive in London for Monday’s funeral.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was expected to land Friday as part of a Canadian delegation that includes Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and four former prime ministers.
Hundreds of thousands of members of the public are expected to travel to London for the funeral, as well as dozens of other world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden.
Streets around the Palace of Westminster were blocked off with metal barricades on Friday, with a large contingent of police from across the United Kingdom directing the crowd who had come to pay their respects to the queen.
Security consultant Will Geddes described the operation unrolling in London as “unprecedented.”
“It’s almost if you combined the 2012 Olympics with the London Marathon, with all the royal family members’ weddings that we’ve seen, and converged all together as one,” he said in a telephone interview.
Geddes said some 750,000 people are expected to come to the city on Monday, in addition to those who have been arriving in recent days.
That’s in addition to world leaders, whose arrival and movement require careful planning and significant police resources.
Members of the army, the Royal Navy and fire officials could be seen milling in the streets of London on Friday, while black vehicles with tinted windows occasionally sped by behind police motorcycle escorts with flashing lights.
The buzz of an overhead helicopter greeted crowds emerging from the queen’s lying-in-state at Westminster Hall after they lined up for hours, and kilometres, under the supervision of an army of private security hired by the city.
In addition to the visible security on the street, Geddes said there is far more happening behind the scenes, including security cameras, plainclothes officers, snipers and special forces on standby to intervene if a “drastic” event occurs.
He said most world leaders, including Trudeau, will bring their own security personnel. But those will have to co-ordinate with the United Kingdom, which is ultimately responsible for controlling all the security around the events and during visits.
He believes only three leaders have been granted exceptions allowing them to more fully manage their own transport and security: Biden, President Isaac Herzog of Israel and Japanese Emperor Naruhito.
A visiting professor at the University of Suffolk who studies crowd management says the security plan for the queen’s funeral has been in development for decades.
G. Keith Still says the effort involves high levels of co-operation between agencies to manage elements that include VIP security, counterterrorism and crowd management, as well as the health and welfare of those who gather. Security of leaders, he said, also needs to be balanced with efficiency and allowing traffic to flow.
“All of these plans were put into place years, decades ago, and will have been refined as the world has changed with COVID, post-COVID,” he said. “All of those situations have been factored in.”
Unlike an event such as the Olympics, the plans for the queen’s death had to be put in place with little notice. But Still said that doesn’t matter, because the 10-day plan was prepared to be deployed at any time.
The security effort involves not just VIP leaders but also managing the kilometres-long lineup of people waiting hours to reach Westminster Hall to view the queen’s coffin.
On Friday, the government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport temporarily closed the queue, saying it had reached capacity. It reopened several hours later, with listed wait times of over 24 hours.
Still says officials have to constantly look at contingency plans, including for medical interventions if a large number of people overestimate their ability to stand in line, or if the weather becomes extreme.
The state funeral on Monday will be attended by world leaders, royalty, church leaders, charities and members of the public who have been recognized for their service.
After the service, King Charles III and other members of the Royal Family will walk behind the gun carriage carrying the queen’s coffin in a procession that will include members of the armed forces from around the Commonwealth, including the Canadian Armed Forces and RCMP. The Mounties announced on Friday that five members of its famous Musical Ride will take part in a ceremonial capacity and be seen near the front of the procession.
In addition to Trudeau, Simon and their spouses, Canada’s delegation will include former governors general Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston, as well as former prime ministers Kim Campbell, Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Stephen Harper.
Canadian First Nations, Inuit and Métis leaders will also attend, as will several Order of Canada recipients including former swimmer Mark Tewksbury and actress Sandra Oh.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2022.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
