Security at entertainment venues across the UK has increased since the devastating event in Manchester in 2017 when a British-born terrorist detonated a suicide bomb at pop superstar Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert. It killed 22 people and injured more than 800 others, many of them young girls. It was an attack that shocked the nation to its core. So when the recent Vienna leg of the tour by American megastar Taylor Swift was cancelled earlier this month due to a foiled terrorist attack, London was not taking any chances.
Before Taylor resumed her concert tour in London on Thursday, 15th August, for a string of five concerts at London’s Wembley Stadium, Yair Daren, Managing Director and Founder of SRS, was asked for his expert opinion.
Yair has over 25 years of security experience in the public and private sectors, and his company, SRS, has been securing properties, venues, assets and persons in London since 2013. Yair is extremely sensitive to the risks posed by terrorism, unauthorised access and other potential security breaches, understands the varying threat levels and works closely with security agencies and the Metropolitan Police to keep London and its residents and visitors safe.
When interviewed by Luke Hanrahan, the Royal Television Society Award-winning reporter and presenter with over a decade of on-screen experience at the BBC and ITN about the events, Yair said “We are seeing very tense times,” and added that Taylor Swift would have the “highest level” of security provided.
Yair told Luke that, particularly in light of the cancellation of her shows in Vienna and the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack, security in London would be “sky-high during the shows” and in addition to gathering intelligence prior to the events by MI5 and MI6, there would be ample boots on the ground from both the police and private security across Wembley Stadium on the day.
A final preventative layer of security around the stadium perimeter would include plainclothes police officers, uniformed police officers, security detection, dogs and explosives detection teams.
“We’re talking about security operatives who are doing active profiling for suspicious behaviour [and] challenging potential suspicious behaviour, as well as trying to verify the legitimacy of an individual,” Yair said.
Yair also explained how an emergency evacuation would be well rehearsed to minimise risk if an incident occurred.
The terrorist attack on Manchester Arena in 2017, which killed 22, led directly to the implementation of a new law on security preparedness and safety in publicly accessible places.
Initially called The Protect Duty, it was renamed Martyn’s Law in tribute to Martyn Hett, one of the victims of the vicious attack in Manchester, whose parents have led the campaign for the legislation. The current Labour government plans to enact the bill during their term.
The full article of the interview with Yair on City AM can be found here:
City AM interview with Yair Daren
Luke Hanrahan also reported on X (formerly Twitter) regarding the heightened security at Wembley as a response to recent Vienna threats and how Yair explained that the intel services are ‘tightly collaborating’ can be found here:
Security Risk Specialists (SRS) is expert at delivering multiple security solutions across London, including:
- Physical security –mere presence is perhaps the most significant deterrence to would-be offenders engaged in crime and even acts of terrorism.
- Reassurance – the ability for those working and living in London to know that their environment has a protective firewall.
- CCTV monitoring and oversight – facilities may be capable of securing an area with numerous cameras and intelligent access control systems. Still, these do not account for the human factor of guises that arise in shaping public perception of your surroundings.
- Fire Control Monitoring – although a legal requirement in many buildings for electronic monitoring to be installed, the ever presence of a concierge member should not be under-estimated in the ability to organise and direct staff or visitors in the event of an emergency
- Deliveries – the control, acceptance and scanning of mail and package deliveries and movements.
- Conduit of Communications – a reliable and knowledgeable coordinator who collaborates with security agencies, police and other intelligence agencies and acts as a Single Point Of Contact (SPOC).
- Ancillary Aggravations – for example, fly-tipping, anti-socials, drug users, vagrants, vandals or other vulnerable people can be monitored or assisted as required.
For full details, visit https://srslondon.co.uk/portfolio/security-guards-london/ or call us at 020 3004 4189.
You can read more about the three arrests in Vienna following the plot the Austria Authorities say was inspired by the Islamic State group and al-Qaida here:
