Euro 2016 terror shambles: We expose security issues at England’s first match stadium after Sun man was offered LADDER to get inside
Astonishing breach comes just seven months after Islamic State maniacs killed 130 in Paris
EURO 2016 security was exposed as a shambles last night after a Sun man tested the perimeter of England’s first match stadium - and was offered a LADDER to get inside.
Ross Kempsell was able to walk unchallenged under a stand where 30,000 England fans will watch our opening match against Russia on Saturday.
He spent 15 minutes in the supposedly “sterile” secure area and could easily have planted a bomb which could have caused carnage.
The astonishing breach came just seven months after Islamic State maniacs killed 130 in Paris leaving the nation in a state of emergency as it prepared to host half a million travelling Britons.
Marseilles is at the top of an anti-terror list of “sensitive” venues thanks to its 40 per cent Muslim population, appalling gun crime record and IS vows to attack both English and Russian enemies.
Yet the 67,000-seat Velodrome Stadium was a wide open goal to terrorists yesterday just two days before its first game of the tournament.
At 2.35pm, Kempsell walked unchallenged through an open and unguarded gate leading to the Marriott AC Hotel car park which backs onto the stadium.
Police officers were nowhere to be seen so he headed for a gap in the perimeter where builders were using a blow torch to weld metal panels to heighten the fence.
The reporter approached the worker and asked him: “Bonjour, OK to go inside?”, and was waved through with a smile.
A second builder then incredibly passed Kempsell a ladder and invited him to go deeper inside bowels of the soccer arena, 30 metres behind the security cordon.
At no point was our man screened by any security staff or police and no CCTV cameras were visible to monitor his movements.
euro 2016
Blue seat covers and the concrete staircases of the stands were clearly visible, no more than
25 meters away.
The PA system was being tested as Kempsell laid hands on the supporting struts of the structure checking for spots where explosives could be stashes.
And he found the unkempt and rubbish-strewn depths of the stadium complex offered a variety of hiding places for bombs or lethal chemicals.
Dressed in blue jeans, trainers and a red t-shirt shirt, the Sun man could not conceivably have been mistaken for a uniformed official.
He left the by the same route he came in after around half an hour at large behind the secure cordon and exited by pressing an exit button.
Our expose in Marseille came as more concerns were raised over the security of the England team coach near Roy Hodgson’s men’s base in Chantilly.
More Sun checks revealed the gleaming bus emblazoned with Three Lions logos was left unguarded on a French industrial estate.
The coach which has been ferrying the squad to and from their team hotel and training base was left unattended for brief moments as guards took toilet breaks..
It has been parked up in a space near a shoddy travel-lodge style hotel and car show room on the outskirts of the country town 24 miles north east of Paris.
A hotel source said yesterday: "The coach has been parked up here since the team has arrived.
"The security has been very low key considering the fuss made over the players at the hotel and training ground.
"When the drivers or security team nip out to the loo anyone could just jump on board."
UEFA officials were last night investigating the security of the bus after The Sun raised concerns of a possible breach.
Fans face 'fun' ban
ENGLAND fans arriving in Marseille for tomorrow’s match face TV blackouts in pubs, a booze crackdown and even bans from swimming in the sea.
It comes amid fears of hooligan clashes like those seen there during France’s 1998 World Cup and a Tunisia-style terror attack. Fans were instead urged to watch the
Group B clash with Russia in official fan zones selling dearer Carlsberg booze.
Three Lions fan Steve Jones, 43, of North London, called the crackdown in the southern port city “Stalinist”.
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