This weekend all eyes will be on London as it hosts the internationally important London Marathon, and the children’s Mini Marathon, as well as two FA Cup Semi Finals and several other football matches across the capital,” says Deputy Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor.

“We are also prepared for four-days of planned protests by Extinction Rebellion.

“Our very experienced policing teams will be on duty throughout this period together with policing colleagues from British Transport Police and the City of London Police. People can expect to see a highly visible and engaging policing presence across London, including at transport hubs and other busy and crowded areas.

“We are in contact with the Extinction Rebellion organisers in the run up to their event, and will continue to engage with them throughout the period, in an effort to avoid serious disruption and delays to London’s communities and the other events taking place in London. Alongside a significant policing response we will be using specialist officers to respond to any protesters who lock or glue themselves to street furniture or purpose built structures. Where protest crosses the line into criminality, we will respond quickly and remove and arrest activists as appropriate and return things to normal as soon as possible. I urge people not to take matters into their own hands.

“We want people to be able to enjoy the Mini London Marathon and the London Marathon and have been working hard with the event organisers, the event security team, British Transport Police and the City of London Police to achieve this. There will again be a highly visible policing presence on and around the route, at key transport hubs and across London. This will also include officers from our Marine Unit and Mounted branch.

“With a number of road closures in place, those attending are being asked to check the TfL and official London Marathon websites in advance, in order to plan their journeys. Planned road closures can be viewed here: https://www.tcslondonmarathon.com/the-event/road-closures

“Additionally, this weekend is going to be the busiest day yet for football this season. We will have over 1,100 officers policing the impact of these matches, as well as police dogs and officers from Mounted Branch at certain fixtures, to keep fans safe and secure.

“It is clear that this will be a busy weekend for officers across the Met, but I am confident that we are able respond to any demand. However, the disruption caused by protests and extractions to police football matches is challenging and resource intensive and undoubtedly impacts on communities who will see local officers pulled into central London in response.”

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