THE CHAIRMAN of BCP Council has said the authority will soon communicate its detailed response to the death of Her Majesty the Queen.

Cllr Nigel Hedges said he and some of his colleagues were informed of the death of Queen Elizabeth II while at an audit and governance meeting, and that he said a prayer in her memory immediately afterwards.

He told the Echo: “Operation London Bridge has been in place for some time and certainly all chairmen and senior officials are briefed to varying degrees as to what the actions would be when such a tragedy occurs.

“There have been numerous phone calls made between the mayors of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and the whole civic team about where we all need to be and what we need to do.

“There’s a process that is set down from the government and royal household for what we do next according to the protocol. There’s an awful lot of professional people around us at the council to steer us in the right direction for our response.

Bournemouth Echo: Cllr Nigel HedgesCllr Nigel Hedges

“I’m totally confident that from the chief executive and downwards our response is all in hand.

“From a personal point of view, like so many of us I’ve never known another monarch and whilst you know it’s inevitable it is still a terrible blow for everyone.

“I was able to say a little prayer immediately after, while other people reflected in their own grief.

“While it’s an honour and a privilege to express the words and sentiment of the 380,000 people who I have been chosen to represent, it’s something I’d rather not have to do because it’s such a very sad duty.”