Thaindian News

London, Apr. 17 (ANI): British authorities facing a range of potential threats are launching an unprecedented security operation in preparation for the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton to be held later this month.

“We will respond swiftly to anyone seeking to mar this national event,” a spokesperson for London’s Metropolitan Police, or Scotland Yard, told Fox News.

Since the last major royal wedding, the nuptials of Prince Charles and Diana in 1981, Islamist terrorism has grown menacing, culminating in the 9/11 attacks in the U.S. and the “7/7″ 2005 transport attacks in London.

One emerging threat in Britain comes from extremist elements within a growing domestic Muslim population.

But also evolving is the British authorities’ ability to cope with terror. In the past decade they’ve come up with some of the toughest counter-terrorism measures around.

“There is a range of overt and covert tactics used on a daily basis to deal with terrorism,” according to Scotland Yard.

They include “stop-and-search” powers that police are considering using on the wedding day.

Officials here also employ “pre-emptive policing,” which means they can arrest someone before they have all the evidence in, for even planning or inciting a terror act.

Those “pre-charge” detentions can be based on a range of spying methods including phone taps, electronic surveillance and old-fashioned snooping.

All of this has helped the British thwart a number of terror attacks in recent years, including the “liquid bomber” plan to blow up 10 trans-Atlantic airliners in 2006.

There has been no public Al Qaeda threat yet against the royal wedding. And Scotland Yard will also not say what, if any, specific techniques are being employed in the run-up to the wedding.

They emphasize the wedding is a security operation, not specifically an anti-terror effort. (ANI)