Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection
Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection (PaDP) is a branch of Protection Command within the Specialist Operations directorate of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Duties A unit of the Metropolitan Police Service, PaDP is responsible for providing officers (armed and unarmed) to protect the Palace of Westminster, which contains the Houses of Parliament; it protects government ministers and provides advice on threat levels. Within PaDP is a Parliamentary Liaison and Investigation Team (PLaIT), which is responsible for coordinating with local police forces and with the Parliamentary Security Department (PSD) that reports to the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. In addition, PaDP is responsible for security at Downing Street, which is home to the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. PaDP is also responsible for the protection of diplomatic missions in the UK, consistent with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (which requires that a host country protect embassies and consulates, while preserving their inviolability). PaDP provides armed and unarmed security in both police cars and foot patrols, and uniformed and plainclothes operations. History PaDP was created in April 2015 through a merger of the Metropolitan Police Service's Diplomatic Protection Group (SO16) and