Somewhere along the line the information that Op. Stack was being implemented must have got mangled. What actually happened was that Kent Police put the infrastructure in place on the off-chance that Op. Stack would be needed. Luckily it wasn't and the barriers and cones were removed again, unused, this evening.
Just for a change Kent Police got this right; getting things in place before it was needed because they had, and heeded, the advance notice of the general strike across the water. If, as has frequently happened in the past, the strike had disrupted cross-channel traffic without warning then the Police would have endeavoured to implement Op. Stack - but it takes the best part of 24 hours to get it all set up properly by which time it is obviously too late. It's not only the hardware that needs putting in place but also the personel to manage it - and it is this aspect that takes the longest time to sort out according to my sources.
The only thing the Police got wrong on this occasion was the announcement that seems to have got you lot all of a-dither.
