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Merseyside Police have shared a briefing about the Labour Party Conference which we are pleased to share with all residents who will be affected by the events these next few days.

STAKEHOLDER BRIEFING – LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE
Stakeholder briefing – policing of Labour Party Conference (Operation Escudo)
This briefing document, sent on behalf of Chief Superintendent Jonathan Davies – head of planning for Operation Escudo – provides you with up-to-date information on the policing of the Labour Party Conference.Unless otherwise stated the information in this document can be used in conversation with communities across Merseyside and in media interviews you may undertake.

Key updates at 3.20pm on Wednesday 25 September

Today marks the end of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool – the first time the city has hosted the conference for a party in Government.

I am proud to say it was a hugely successful operation that, despite some challenges, passed without major incident and that is thanks entirely to everyone involved.

From those who took part in the months of planning to the police officers and partners on the ground for the duration of the event, everyone did their bit to keep those attending safe.

The Home Secretary met with police officers and partners at the site this morning to thank them for their work throughout the event. Earlier in the week we also received positive feedback from those protesting on Palestine, so it is clear that in all interactions the right tone has been struck and we have reaped the rewards of that throughout.

During the course of conference, there were only five arrests – including two arrested to prevent a breach of the peace after disrupting the Chancellor’s speech and were then de-arrested. Two others have been charged with causing criminal damage after a sign at the entrance was spray painted, though neither were able to access the secure part of the site. The fifth arrest related to a protestor who threw a phone at a police officer’s face on Tuesday. I am pleased to say no serious injury was caused.

After seizing three drones on Day 1, issues with drones were minimal and the restrictions in place were largely adhered to.

As Silver commander, I wanted to re-iterate my gratitude to all involved for the professionalism they have shown – from officers and partner agencies on the ground, to their counterparts here in Silver and Gold. There were some challenges but the plan in place was followed and in all cases issues were resolved swiftly and professionally.

We look forward to doing it all again next year.

Thank you,

Chief Superintendent Jonathan Davies, Silver Commander for Operation Escudo.

Key updates at 5pm on Tuesday 24 September

Day four of the Labour Conference draws to a close.

It has been a busy day building up to the key Leader’s Speech with a small number of protests outside the site which were all peaceful. There were two arrests for criminal damage when two protestors approached the main entrance and sprayed ‘Genocide Conference’ on the windows of the tent at that location. Both were quickly detained and arrested, evidence secured, fake tickets recovered and they are currently being dealt with by detectives.

This took place after most delegates had entered the building, but it did garner some media interest and featured on social media. The graffiti was quickly removed.

In relation to the Leader’s speech at 2pm, there was a very tight security plan involving ACC Liverpool staff and Labour Party Stewards, supported by Merseyside Police, to ensure any protest was dealt with in an appropriate manner. This plan has been worked on over the last month, tested, subject to a table top exercise and worked extremely well with event security removing the protestor from the auditorium in a low key manner. He has not been arrested and police acted in a supporting role to the security teams.

In relation to Wednesday, the last day of the Conference, once again there will be a proportionate deployment of police to support the event owner and ACC staff. Officers will be out this evening to support Fringe event organisers.

As Silver commander, I wanted to highlight the professional nature of the event security staff within the main Auditorium. There have been some challenges as this plan was developed leading up to 2pm, but it’s clear that this multi-agency approach established this year is a strong basis on which to build for next year.

Key updates at 5.55pm on Monday, 23 September

The Labour Party Conference is now in full flow and features prominently in the national media.

There one incident within the main auditorium during the Chancellor’s Speech when a man in the auditorium heckled the Chancellor during her speech.

You may have seen the footage of the protestor being removed from the Auditorium but for clarity he was initially approached by another delegate prior to security and police attending.

He was dealt with in line with the pre-agreed and tested process. He was arrested to prevent a Breach of the Peace and ejected from the Conference by The Labour Party. Once outside he was dearrested.

This has generated a number of media enquiries and some calls from other delegates and members of the public and these have been dealt with through a joint approach from Merseyside Police and the Labour Party media teams.

No allegations of assault have been reported to police and a number of media statements have been released. A small flag was held up in the auditorium, but I can assure you that there is no failure of the search regime or the accreditation process that has been implemented by the event organisers, ACC Liverpool and the security team.

There have been seven small protests outside the arena and again all protest groups have engaged with police, and all have been peaceful.

Merseyside Police has received positive feedback as to the manner in which the National Palestine Solidarity march was policed, this is always good to receive. There have been no breaches of the Restricted Air Space order by any drones.

Police and security activity will remain in and around the site throughout the event. Fringe events are ongoing through the evening and security arrangements will continue to be reviewed as we move into day four.

Key updates at 4.40pm on Sunday 22 September

Another busy day at the Labour Party Conference site although the rain did impact upon the protest picture.

There were eight individual protests at the site, all of which were peaceful, and a number of other small organisations attending. There was one event in the city centre that also went ahead successfully.

There were no event-related arrests nor incidents of note although there have been other incidents dealt with by the Multi Agency silver, one of which was support to the North West Ambulance Service by the Road Policing Unit that has been credited with helping to save a person’s life. That is the benefit of having Blue Light organisations co-located with partners and the ability to swap information and allocate resources to jointly deal with an incident.

British Transport Police have been present in the Control Room, as have Culture Liverpool who have run their ‘International Car Free day’ operation from this location

Drone usage is also down with two unauthorised flights and the pilots appropriately dealt with.

Fringe events take place throughout the evening and as per my last update, officers are available to support the event owners.

Monday will see the event continue and although there is much-reduced planned protest there will still be a proportionate deployment of officers.

Key updates at 4.30pm on Saturday 21 September

The Labour Party Conference is now up and running at the ACC with the Women’s Conference taking place today.

It was a busy day in the city today with the National March for Palestine Solidarity taking place and making its way peacefully from St Georges Hall to the Pier Head. I estimate the numbers being around 5,000 people. The Football operation also went well with fans and players getting to the ground in time for the three pm kick-off.

There have been no arrests relating to Operation Escudo today and no significant incidents of note. Three drones were seized in breach of drone restrictions in place for the duration of conference.

This evening Fringe events start this evening and police resources are available to support event organisers.

Looking forward, Sunday is another busy day with a number of protests set to take place, mostly in the area around the Arena. One Palestine related protest is due to take place in the city centre similar to those that have taken place each Sunday for some time. Once again I am grateful to protest organisers for their engagement with our Protest Liaison Teams.

The Silver Command Suite was also busy today with representatives from across the emergency services, Liverpool City Council, Merseytravel and more. This Control room is in place 24hrs a day until the end of the event.

Key updates at 11.20am on Friday 20 September

In this latest Stakeholder update I wanted to give some more detail about what has been happening at the ACC and also an update on the ‘protest’ picture that will impact upon the city.

Firstly the site. ACC Sims (Gold) and I did a tour of the Arena, both inside and out, yesterday and it looks good. The fence is up, back from its use in Paris to support the Olympics, with all gates and entrances fully functional. The National Barrier Assets Team has worked hard to get this in place to ensure it is a secure area and it’s being dressed accordingly. Inside, the build of the stalls etc is well underway and they look impressive. The search regime and entrance arrangements are ‘owned’ by the event owner so I would point you towards Conference Services for any queries on the site.

In relation to any demonstrations I held a multi-agency Silver meeting on Wednesday which was well attended by Liverpool City Council, blue light partners, the various hotels and businesses within and surrounding the secure site, transport partners, shopping areas, British Transport Police and many others. This was to ensure complete situational awareness of the protest and timings across the city.

This weekend we have been notified of a march within the city relating to Palestine on Saturday. The organiser had made plans for 5000 people and fully engaged with our Protest Liaison Teams over route and times for which I am grateful. Arrangements have been made to temporarily move the ‘soccer bus’ for the LFC game to a slightly different location in order to facilitate both events. The march has stewards and there will be a proportionate policing plan in place to support the event organiser. I have made provisions for road closures if the number dictates that is necessary and we are well supported by the transport organisations. It starts at St Georges Plateau and ends at the Pier Head.

Sunday has a wide range of smaller protests at the event site and there is also Liverpool Trans Pride.

I have no information or intelligence to suggest these events are going to be anything other than peaceful. Extensive planning has taken place for a wide range of contingencies.

As per my previous update you will see officers and staff from a range of forces from the North West and beyond. ‘Business as usual’ in the force is of high importance to us hence the use of mutual aid. There is a firearms operation running in the background as you would expect.

I hope you found this update useful. I also hope you enjoy the Conference and if you have any feedback on the policing operation please do let me know and I can look to explain or address any queries and also look to build on this year for next year.

Key updates at 2.20pm on Friday, 6 September

Planning for the Labour Party Conference 2024 has been ongoing for some months with a full time dedicated team in place since June.

As part of that process as Silver Commander responsible for the policing plan I have given a number of briefings to key partners and individuals and I recognise that as local elected officials you may also require information about the policing operation which relates to both the event itself and the wider city/regional impact. The policing of the Conference has been given the operational name ‘Escudo’ within Merseyside Police

We intend to send out these ‘Stakeholder’ update emails in the build up to the Conference and at key times throughout the five days the operation is in place. You will notice some changes from last year due to the fact that the Conference  now houses the ‘party in power’.

Firstly, the site build at the Arena begins next week with fencing and structures being delivered and put up. The footprint is slightly larger this year for a number of reasons even though the number of delegates is broadly the same. This will be a 24hrs secure site with accreditation required to access it. There will be proportionate searching by the event owner security teams supported by Merseyside Police officers.

As part of the Policing Plan relating to the Conference you will see police officers in and around the secure site at the Arena. Some of these will be armed, in keeping with the deployment of police officers nationally at large scale events, and may be on foot with long barrelled rifles. This is part of the wider deployment plan for firearms officers and is not prompted by any change to the threat assessment relating to the event.

We are supported regionally and nationally by officers from other forces this year so you will see officers from other areas of the country at the Conference.

In relation to any planned demonstrations I can reassure you that we have good dialogue with the those groups that have indicated they will attend. We are aware of a large demonstration on Saturday the 21st of September and a number on Sunday the 22nd of September. Plans are in place in relation to these events and this includes multi agency plans to mitigate the impact on the transport network and other non-conference events that are taking place within the Force area. Understanding the range of events taking place is key to ensuring  a degree of coordination and  I ask that if you have any information that you please pass it to us to allow us to add it to the plan. We are very keen to engage with organisers and assist in their planning to ensure Public Safety.