Probably for the first time ever at a football match in the UK, bar Northern Ireland, police officers armed with firearms are to patrol Wembley for tonight's friendly match between England and France.
The SAS and armed police are poised for a shoot to kill operation at tonight's game as 80,000 fans come together in a poignant display of solidarity against Friday's terror attacks in Paris.
Defiant English and French supporters, including FA president Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron, have snapped up an extra 10,000 tickets over the past four days for tonight's fixture in London.
The international friendly is expected to involve one of the tightest security operations ever seen at a sporting event, with armed police, thorough searches of fans and 5,000 troops on standby.
In an unprecedented move, there is also expected to be SAS units patrolling the 90,000-seater stadium who will have orders to shoot to kill if terrorists strike as the two nations go head-to-head.
It comes after left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was branded a 'f*****g disgrace' over his refusal to support armed and special forces shooting dead marauding terrorists.
Until Friday, around 70,000 tickets had been sold for the game, which was initially arranged to support Breast Cancer Care, the FA's official charity partner.
But there is expected to be upwards of 80,000 fans in the stadium for the 8pm kick-off, following a surge in sales over the past four days.
Following Friday's attacks, the FA even announced it would be offering refunds to fans, but just 100 people have so far taken up the offer.
Among those attending is the Duke of Cambridge, president of the Football Association, who reportedly told the FA on Monday that he wanted to be at the game in a show of support for the grieving nation.
David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson are also expected to be in the stands, after vowing to 'carry on' with normal life in the wake of the Paris atrocities.
The most heavily guarded British football match ever: SAS and armed police are ready to shoot to kill as players arrive for tonight's England vs France match in front of Prince William and 80,000 defiant fans
Some 80,000 supporters will watch the two nations in international friendly
Wembley arch to be lit up in French tricolore as anthem is shown on screen
Security to be heightened with SAS units patrolling 90,000-seater stadium
Just 100 fans asked FA for refund, with 10,000 tickets selling since Friday
By
Steph Cockroft for MailOnline
17 November 2015
Daily Mail
Wembley Stadium in north west London is illuminated in the colours of the French flag ahead of tonight's friendly between England and France
The SAS and armed police are poised for a shoot to kill operation at tonight's game at Wembley as 80,000 fans come together in a poignant display of solidarity against Friday's terror attacks in Paris.
Defiant English and French supporters, including
Prince William and
David Cameron, have snapped up an extra 10,000 tickets over the past four days for tonight's fixture in London.
The international friendly is expected to involve one of the tightest security operations ever seen at a sporting event, with armed police, thorough searches of fans and 5,000 troops on standby.
In an unprecedented move, there is also expected to be SAS units patrolling the 90,000-seater stadium who will have orders to shoot to kill if terrorists strike as the two nations go head-to-head.
On duty: Armed police have been deployed to guard France's national team as the players trained at Wembley Stadium in north London ahead of tonight's friendly international against England
The SAS and armed police (pictured left and right) are poised for a shoot to kill operation at tonight's game at Wembley as 80,000 fans come together in a poignant display of solidarity against Friday's terror attacks
The international friendly is expected to involve one of the tightest security operations ever seen at a sporting event, with armed police (pictured), thorough searches of fans and 5,000 troops on standby
Wembley Arch will be lit up in the red, white and blue colours of the French flag while the slogan liberté, égalité and fraternité is emblazoned across the 90,000-capacity stadium
Video: France and Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris and France manager Didier Deschamps take part in a press conference at Wembley last night:
It comes after left-wing Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was branded a 'f*****g disgrace' over his refusal to support armed and special forces shooting dead marauding terrorists.
Until Friday, around 70,000 tickets had been sold for the game, which was initially arranged to support Breast Cancer Care, the FA's official charity partner.
But there is expected to be upwards of 80,000 fans in the stadium for the 8pm kick-off, following a surge in sales over the past four days.
Following Friday's attacks, the FA even announced it would be offering refunds to fans, but just 100 people have so far taken up the offer.
Among those attending is the Duke of Cambridge, president of the Football Association, who reportedly told the FA on Monday that he wanted to be at the game in a show of support for the grieving nation.
David Cameron and London Mayor Boris Johnson are also expected to be in the stands, after vowing to 'carry on' with normal life in the wake of the Paris atrocities.
Martin Glenn, the FA chief executive, said: 'Had we been seeing tens of thousands wanting their money back, there would be a level of concern.
'But it’s been quite the opposite. People are determined to show their solidarity.'
The French squad walk around Wembley Stadium this morning ahead of tonight's game against England
France and Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny (right) walks with his teammates around the stadium as armed police stand guard nearby
Defiant: Among those in tonight's French squad is Lassana Diarra (centre), who arrived in London on Monday just days after it was confirmed his cousin was one of the victims of Friday's terror attacks in Paris
The French international footballer (pictured), who counts Chelsea and Arsenal as his former teams, was playing in a match against Germany when suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France
His cousin Asta Diakite (pictured) was among those killed in Friday night's atrocities. The footballer has since paid an emotional tribute to his beloved relative
With the stadium almost at capacity, tonight's game is expected to one of the most emotional in the stadium's history.
In a visible display of unity, the Wembley Arch will be lit up in the red, white and blue colours of the French flag, while the French motto 'Liberte, Egalite and Fraternite' - the cry used by revolutionists meaning freedom, equality and fraternity - will be emblazoned in lights outside the stadium.
The words to La Marseillaise, the national anthem, will also be projected across screens while multi-coloured material will be placed on the seats in the England end of the stadium so fans can form the French Tricolore by waving the segments in the air.
A one minute silence will also take place before kick-off, while the FA said the England team will make a 'gesture of solidarity' to the French team before the game begins.
Despite the proceeds originally being promised to the charity, there is growing support for an online petition which is calling for the profits to be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières and the French Red Cross.
A British armed police officer (left and right) stands guard at the players' tunnel at Wembley Stadium as the French national team train on the pitch. There will be beefed up security at tonight's game
An armed officer stationed outside Wembley stadium. The international friendly is taking place four days after the atrocities in Paris
Two officers stand guard at the stadium. Fans are being asked to arrived ahead of schedule to allow for thorough searches to take place
The international friendly is being played just four days after the coordinated terror strikes across the French capital that saw 129 people murdered.
Fans have been told to expect an increased police presence at transport hubs and 'in and around' the stadium, including armed officers.
British armed police have already been deployed to guard France's national football team as the players trained at the stadium.
Among them was Lassana Diarra, who arrived in London on Monday just days after it was confirmed his cousin was one of the victims of Friday's terror attacks in Paris.
The French international footballer, who counts Chelsea and Arsenal as his former teams, was playing in a match against Germany when suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the Stade de France in what was the start of a night of bloodshed.
FA president Prince William has also vowed to attend the match in a show of solidarity with the French people. He is pictured at Wembley during the FA Cup final in May earlier this year
Diarra and the other 22 players named in the French squad to play against England were given the option to pull out of the friendly as France observes three days of mourning, but none of them have done so.
Antoine Griezmann will take part despite being directly affected by the attacks. Griezmann's sister managed to escape the mass killing at the Bataclan theatre, where 89 people died after it was stormed by armed terrorists.
Today, Met Police Commissioners Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe called for the number of armed officers in London to be doubled following the Paris attacks
France's team coach was also given a police escort as it made its way from Luton Airport to the squad hotel ahead of tonight's fixture.
As the players geared up for the friendly, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe revealed how he wants to double the number of armed officers in London in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.
The Scotland Yard chief said the number of firearms officers in the capital was being reviewed following the massacres.
But he revealed that he expects to have to slash 5,000 officers from his 32,000-strong force to cope with austerity cuts following Chancellor George Osborne's spending review later this month.
The Commissioner told LBC radio: 'I think what Paris showed us, with so many attackers with so many scenes, moving around at speed ... we need to have a mobile reserve. And I've got a good idea how that can be achieved.'
He said he would be announcing the exact details of the plan in coming weeks, but it would involve changes to the number of armed officers.
Currently, only about 2,000 of London's 32,000 officers are armed. When asked whether that was enough, Sir Bernard replied: 'I think at the moment we're fine.'
He added: 'What I've said is ... we're working on plans now so that in the short period of time we've got an extra third on top of the core provision.
'The armed response vehicle element we're increasing by a third straight away. But then the overall pool I want to increase by a third overall and also at any one time, on duty, probably double.'
It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said he was 'not happy' about armed officers and special forces having an order to kill terrorists
Mr Hogan-Howe added that tonight's international friendly between England and France will involve some armed police officers - a response the Commissioner admitted would seem unusual to Britons.
There will be 'a few hundreds' police officers, including some on horses and with dogs, as part of the increased security operation.
He said: 'I hope they're reassured by it, not worried by it. We usually police football matches on the amount of football violence there might be there. We're not expecting any tonight.'
Today, Belgian anti-terror police cancelled a planned international friendly against Spain after Jihadi Salah Abdeslam was apparently spotted outside the King Baudouin stadium after returning to Brussels.
But Scotland Yard said that no specific threat had been made against the match. They asked fans to be the police's 'eyes and ears' and approach the nearest officer if they noticed anything of concern.
David Cameron, who is expected to be at Wembley tonight, today signed a book of condolences at the French Ambassador's residence in London following last week's attacks in Paris
The message written by the Prime Minister said: 'Nous Sommes tous ensemble' which means 'we are all together'
Meanwhile, former Cabinet ministers have distanced themselves from the Labour leader over his stance on the shoot to kill policy.
Even his own shadow foreign secretary expressed dismay at Corbyn's stance, days after 129 people were slaughtered by ISIS fanatics in the French capital.
He told BBC News: 'I'm not happy with the shoot to kill policy in general – I think that is quite dangerous and I think can often can be counterproductive.
'I think you have to have security that prevents people firing off weapons where they can, there are various degrees of doing things as we know. But the idea you end up with a war on the streets is not a good thing.
'Surely you have to work to try and prevent these things happening, that's got to be the priority.'
The Labour leader also questioned if the drone strike which killed Jihadi John was legal - and refused to say if he would ever back military action against Islamic extremists.
It also emerged Mr Corbyn plans to attend a Christmas party for an anti-war campaign which blamed the Paris atrocities on western intervention in the Middle East.
