Last updated 10:13, Thursday, 14 August 2008

ALAN Irving reports on security at Sellafield

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Cumbria’s two chief Constables: Cumbria Chief Constable Craig Mackey (left) and Chief Constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary Richard Thompson

AL QAEDA is a name which regularly crops up when intelligence chiefs talk about terrorism. It has special relevance to Cumbria due to the presence of Sellafield.

Since Al-Qaeda’s devastating attack on the World Trade Centre on September 11 2001, security has intensified all over the world. Sellafield and the rest of the UK’s civil nuclear sites are no exception.

The exacting task of protecting Sellafield (and indeed all the sites) falls to the Civil Nuclear Police Authority (formerly the UKAEA Constabulary) which has a new man in its hot seat.

Richard Thompson commands an armed force guarding against the day everyone hopes will never happen. Without previous police experience, the CNC’s chief constable was recruited because of his extensive Home & Commonwealth Office experience in defence and security – Iraq included – and more lately counter- terrorist work in the UK.

Defend and deter, the new buzz words surrounding Sellafield’s security, tend to reflect some of the rationale behind the appointment of a 46-year-old former Royal Green Jacket who has spent much of his life in the secret world of combating the ever real threat of terrorism.

In terms of national security, Richard’s new role could not be more important but his aim is to make it as “open and transparent as possible” other than when information about the storage and movement of nuclear materials might prove useful to terrorists.

Cumbria Constabulary provides full support and works closely with CNC but there is one fundamental difference – the nuclear police are licensed not only to carry weapons routinely but to fire arms for the protection of life and nuclear materials.

CNC is “a specialised armed force” whose powers stretch outside the UK’s 15 civil nuclear sites. Officers have an equally well trained back up from its German Shepherd dogs, bred and trained specially to meet the highest security profile.

During a recent visit to Sellafield, both chief constables, Richard Thompson and his Cumbria Constabulary counterpart Craig Mackey, spoke to The Whitehaven News about what it takes to secure Sellafield and keep it safe.

“We have a new mission statement,” said Richard Thompson, “which in essence is to defend Sellafield: to deny any unauthorised access to the nuclear (fissile) material on the site and, should the occasion arise, to recover control over any lost material. We will make sure we are trained and resourced accordingly.”

Does this mean a higher visibility presence for the armed officers? – “Not necessarily. We will continue with our patrolling activities on and off the site – it is already a visible presence in that the aim is to deter any hostile reconnaissance from terrorists and to provide an important element of reassurance to the local communities.”

Will seeing officers carrying weapons help give public assurance? – “It is my policy for firearms-qualified officers that he or she should certainly carry arms depending on the duties.

“I hope the message the community from seeing an armed officer is that by being highly trained and armed they are better able to provide the kind of protective security this provides.

“Hopefully, the public will appreciate the reason why they are carrying arms.”

Why specifically? – “It is an unfortunate by-product of our times that there is a very clear intent by Al-Qaeda to detonate a nuclear weapon, they have made that very clear. From our perspective we need to make sure we do everything we possibly can to prevent them from obtaining certain fissile material from Sellafield to further that end.”

IT IS said that the chances of a terrorist attack on Sellafield is so unthinkable as to be inconceivable – “To coin a phrase from Dick Cheney, America’s vice-president, it’s the one per cent doctrine: if there’s a one per cent chance of it happening that is one per cent too many.

“We are not in the business of wanting to take that risk, nor is the government, so we must do everything possible to protect the public from that eventuality ever arising.”

How do you guard against complacency? – “You stop it in a number of different ways. Good leadership is absolutely essential: there has to be a clear understanding of the threat, of roles, of people, and good training.

“From what I’ve seen already there are extraordinarily high levels of training, commitment and professionalism, also by the staff who play an invaluable role supporting police officers on the front line.

“We are constantly looking at the latest tactics and procedures Al-Qaeda are using to make sure we have the right levels of protective security to meet the threat. Our officers wear body armour, ballistic helmets, ballistic shields, and they have quite an array of equipment to draw on if the need arises.

Do you have simulated terrorist attacks? – “There is an emergency plan to combat any potential terrorist threat; we have a regular programme of exercises against a number of different scenarios. These are run hand in glove with the site operator and Cumbria (Constabulary) so we make sure we are fully up to speed with each other’s procedures.”

Chief Constable Craig Mackey added: “Exercises are one thing, but we have some really good examples in Cumbria of how we have coped with the real thing, from the Carlisle floods to the Grayrigg rail crash. With terrorism we have to think sometimes of the unthinkable, all sorts of different scenarios.

“I’ve just been to Sellafield with Richard and seen the quality of training – it really is first-class stuff, including the firearms skills.”

But if the unthinkable comes can you combat well-armed terrorists? – “Yes, our officers are up for it. We train for it, talk about it. I am confident that working with the CNC we can cope with a range of threats right across the piece.”

Asked how confident the CNC, as the first line of police defence, is that it wouldn’t be caught napping, Richard Thompson said: “We are always on the alert. It is important to have the right leadership, which we have, so I am absolutely confident we would respond to anything.”

Could a Greenpeace-style “invasion” (when scores of protestors scaled the Sellafield fences) ever happen again? – “It’s conceivable. I am not in the business of giving guarantees but you have to understand we have defence in depth, so we feel very confident that Greenpeace or any other activists would not be able to access very sensitive areas of the site that contain dangerous radioactive material.

“We would also look to Cumbria Constabulary to provide us with the support we would need straight away to manage such an incident.

“Any sort of penetration of the site would be bad and potentially embarrassing, but there are so many different layers of protective security that I feel very confident that Greenpeace would find it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to penetrate the inner areas.”

Does it take a certain temperament not only to carry a weapon in the course of work but also to fire it? – “Good question. Anyone who has ever had to use a firearm in anger will know exactly how to deal with it.

“Encouragingly we are beginning to recruit an increasing number of ex-servicemen and women who have been in places like Iraq and Afghanistan; they are proficient in the use firearms.

“Training of officers is being done in light of the changing environment, to make it as relevant as possible to the kind of threat they might face. We are looking at the kind of tactics for police officers like ourselves spending more time on the ranges, and I have already noticed improvement in the level of skills.”

In what circumstances would an officer be required to fire a weapon? – “If he or she believed there was an immediate threat to life or possibly injury, a method of last resort. There are sensitive areas of Sellafield which do require protection.”

The former UKAEA Constabulary was once referred to as a private army licensed to kill 007 style – “That would be a very unfair comment, certainly today,” says Richard. “We have a very clear government structure and legal framework in which to work. Everything we do is in the same way that any police officer authorised to carry arms does. We can only operate within the law.

“Away from the nuclear licensed site, our officers also have the full powers of a Cumbria police authority constable, that’s up to five kilometres, and anywhere else they may need to go to protect fissile material.”

What comes first, saving life or nuclear material? – “I think the two go hand in hand. Any unauthorised access to fissile material can potentially cause loss of life.”

What lessons were learned from 9/11? – “It was a bit of a wake-up call for everybody. The type of terrorist threat we now have is different from anything we’ve had before, we’ve all had to move on to a different footing.

“I have the personal experience of being in places like Iraq recognising a very determined, well-resourced, highly-trained and equipped adversary. Potentially there is no end in sight for a long time. We need to adjust to this new threat, to configure and posture ourselves accordingly. This is essentially what we in the CNC are doing. We are fully plugged in and enmeshed in the intelligence work of Cumbria.”

FAMILY man Richard Thompson has worked closely with other chief police officers, top level government and international agencies in the field defence and security.

“Most recently, I had almost 18 months in Iraq. A lot of the work there was counter-terrorism and counter-insurgence related: it’s an experience I can draw on, particularly in bringing home to police officers what the threat may look like.”

Have you ever carried or used arms? – “Yes, in an earlier life while I was in the Army serving in Northern Ireland.”

Have you ever shot anyone? – “I don’t think that’s fair to ask. I’d rather not answer the question.”

Although specific numbers for Sellafield can’t be given for obvious security reasons, Richard commands more than 800 police officers and staff stationed at CNC police units across the 15 civil nuclear sites.

“Openness is what we aim for, short of wanting to protect some of the operational issues, but on a day-to-day basis we are as transparent as we possibly can.

“One of the gratifying aspects of coming up to Sellafield is to see just how good the relationship is between the Constabulary and the site itself: you get a real sense of community, people working towards a common purpose. At no stage do you get a sense of the police being seen as something anyone (other than terrorists of course!) should be even slightly worried about. Our officers and staff have family members working at Sellafield and everyone is completely part of the community – a great example.”

Asked what it felt like to have Sellafield in the heart of his patch, Craig Mackey says: “What it means for us professionally is how our two forces work together, how we respond to the threat. What I’ve said to people as I go around the county is that we now need to be able to respond to things that happen on a national and international scale, sometimes in exactly the same way as we react to events at the end of your street.

“International terrorism poses a threat to us all. We have seen a number of recent high-profile cases before the courts, terrorist training camps in the Lake District, so it has a real dimension for Cumbria. That’s why our two organisations are so keen on the work we do together at the site (Sellafield) and in the community to make sure we are all in a position to respond and protect the people of Cumbria.”

One of the proudest moments for the force came recently with a life time achievement award for one of its top Sellafield dog handlers, PC Colin Cook, who lives in Whitehaven.

“Colin’s well-deserved award is evidence of the invaluable role these dogs play in the security work of the CNC. When it comes to the breeding and training of our German Shepherds then this to all intents and purposes world class – a term used lightly but something we all aspire to.”