Labour’s lasting legacy

POLICE chiefs say a new state-of-the-art control room used for the first time during the Labour Party Conference will create a legacy for the people of Greater Manchester.

Greater Manchester Police say the conference was a resounding success with the high level of security ensuring everyone was safe.

The policing operation was funded by a Home Office grant, part of which was used to fund a permanent events control room.

It allowed officers to effectively police all aspects of the conference 24 hours a day. With a record 360 CCTV feeds covering all of Greater Manchester, it is the most advanced control and command facility in the UK and one of the best in Europe.

Superintendent Chris Ullah said: “Not only did it greatly help us police this conference successfully, but it has given the force a fantastic facility for future events such as football matches, multiple major incidents or operations.

“We will be policing political conferences for the next three to four years, so the new control room is a very important addition to our resources.

“I’m delighted with the success of the conference, which was the result of months of hard work and planning.

“The feedback we’ve received from delegates and the people of Manchester is that they were very impressed with the policing of the event and the friendly and helpful attitude of officers which is also pleasing. Our aim was always to provide a high level of security without being intrusive and I believe we achieved that.”