Thames Valley Police said the killing of American activist Charlie Kirk will not force a change to a "very comprehensive" security operation ahead of President Donald Trump's state visit to the United Kingdom this week.
Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt, who is leading the policing operation, told reporters the threat level for the visit was already "very high" and that planning had taken into account "just about every foreseeable eventuality", including protests and the potential for disorder.
Bunt said a noticeably increased police presence will be in place in Windsor, where King Charles III will host the Trumps, and at Chequers, the prime minister's country residence, which the president and first lady are also expected to visit. He said officers had been conducting security searches in Windsor and that elements of the operation drawing on forces across the UK were already visible over the weekend.
He declined to give an exact figure for additional officers but said "mutual aid" from other forces made up roughly two-thirds of the policing resource for the operation. The deployment will include uniformed officers on patrol, firearms officers, search officers, mounted officers, dog handlers and the marine unit on the River Thames. Barriers will be installed to manage crowds and restrictions will be placed on aircraft, including drones, over and around Windsor Castle and Chequers.
"We also have a considerable number of specialist officers for dealing with any protest that may take place," Bunt said. "Some of these and other policing tactics will be visible to the public, meanwhile we will be deploying other tactics that will not be seen by the public. We have considered and planned for just about every foreseeable eventuality." He added that the operation was being kept under daily review throughout the planning phase.
Bunt said officers would be monitoring social media during the short stay largely to ensure nothing compromised the security operation or led to potential disorder. The visit programme includes a carriage tour, a state banquet, a military flypast and a gun salute, but many events will be held away from the public.
The move to reaffirm existing plans followed the killing last week of Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing activist, who was gunned down on a university campus in Utah. British police said the attack prompted a review of security measures but did not require tightening of arrangements already in place for the state visit.
King Charles III is expected to host President Trump and the first lady from Wednesday until Friday, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer is due to meet the visitors at Chequers on Thursday. The president's first state visit in 2019 saw thousands of people turn out in London in opposition; police said lessons from past visits had been incorporated into current planning.
Bunt described the state visit as "a significant policing and security operation" that would draw resources from across the country. He said the public could expect to see a visible increase in security posture in the coming days and that both overt and covert measures had been prepared to manage risk during the president's stay.
Thames Valley Police said it would continue to work with national security partners to assess threats and adjust tactics as necessary but that the assassination did not alter the core security plan already in place for the visit.