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| Royal wedding: Muslim group and EDL apply to protest | |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| The English Defence League and a group called Muslims Against Crusades have sought permission to protest outside Westminster Abbey on royal wedding day, Scotland Yard has said. | The English Defence League and a group called Muslims Against Crusades have sought permission to protest outside Westminster Abbey on royal wedding day, Scotland Yard has said. |
| The Met's Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens said negotiations were in process but the wedding would not be disrupted. | The Met's Assistant Commissioner Lynne Owens said negotiations were in process but the wedding would not be disrupted. |
| She said there would be 5,000 officers on duty and 70-80 close protection teams for VIPs on the day, 29 April. | She said there would be 5,000 officers on duty and 70-80 close protection teams for VIPs on the day, 29 April. |
| Police have already begun searching central London for explosives. | Police have already begun searching central London for explosives. |
| Officers are scouring every inch of the route to Westminster Abbey, while dogs have also been checking bins and lamp-posts for bombs. | Officers are scouring every inch of the route to Westminster Abbey, while dogs have also been checking bins and lamp-posts for bombs. |
| At a briefing on security arrangements, Ms Owens said 60 people currently on bail from prison would be banned from Westminster on the day of the wedding. | |
| As well as the Royal Family, 50 heads of state are attending the ceremony, which it is anticipated will be watched by up to two billion people on television. | |
| Scotland Yard said it had no intelligence of a specific terrorist threat to the wedding so was not currently in a position to impose anti-terrorism stop-and-search powers, said the BBC's Danny Shaw. | Scotland Yard said it had no intelligence of a specific terrorist threat to the wedding so was not currently in a position to impose anti-terrorism stop-and-search powers, said the BBC's Danny Shaw. |
| Police have powers to ban any major protests along the main route that Prince William and his bride-to-be, Kate Middleton, will take. | |
| But they are unable to rule out "static" protests taking place at other nearby locations in central London. | |
| Officers at Scotland Yard were contacted by the ultra-nationalist English Defence League, which said it wanted to protest if the Muslims Against Crusades' proposed action went ahead. | |
| Poppy-burning | |
| In March this year a member of Muslims Against Crusades was fined £50 for burning poppies at an Armistice Day ceremony. | |
| Emdadur Choudary, 26, burned two large plastic poppies during a two-minute silence in west London on 11 November. | |
| The group's website calls on Muslims to disrupt the wedding. | |
| Ms Owens told the BBC police saw the wedding as a "day of celebration". | |
| "What we will be doing is making sure that no protest disrupts that celebration for the Royal Family. | |
| "What we have to do whenever we're deciding about whether there can be a protest, if they're asking to protest in the area around Parliament, it is defined by a very set definition of law - we have to authorise a demonstration but we can put conditions on that demonstration. | |
| "It's that negotiation process that we're engaged in at the moment. But [people] should be absolutely reassured that it won't disrupt the day and we'll have a very safe and happy celebratory event." | |
| Last week, more details of the royal wedding were released by Clarence House, including the exact timings of the event and the route of the carriage procession. | Last week, more details of the royal wedding were released by Clarence House, including the exact timings of the event and the route of the carriage procession. |