diff --git a/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/13-mcp-policy.sh b/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/13-mcp-policy.sh
index 553bedc9..9d63b0a2 100755
--- a/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/13-mcp-policy.sh
+++ b/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/13-mcp-policy.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# Deploy Cedar policy to MCP Gateway
-# Requires AWS CLI 2.32+
+# Deploy Cedar policies to MCP Gateway
+# Creates: Policy Engine, Permit all, Forbid cancelTrip, IAM permissions, Gateway attachment
 set -e
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
@@ -10,77 +10,182 @@ if [ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" ]; then
     source "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
 fi
 
+# Set defaults if not in .env
+AWS_REGION=${AWS_REGION:-$(aws configure get region)}
+ACCOUNT_ID=${ACCOUNT_ID:-$(aws sts get-caller-identity --query Account --output text)}
+
+# Get gateway ID if not set
+if [ -z "$MCP_GATEWAY_ID" ]; then
+    MCP_GATEWAY_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-gateways --query 'items[0].gatewayId' --output text)
+fi
+
 GATEWAY_ARN="arn:aws:bedrock-agentcore:${AWS_REGION}:${ACCOUNT_ID}:gateway/${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}"
-POLICY_FILE="${SCRIPT_DIR}/backoffice-policy.cedar"
 
-echo "Deploying Cedar policy..."
+echo "Deploying Cedar policies..."
+echo "  Region: ${AWS_REGION}"
 echo "  Gateway: ${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}"
-echo "  Policy Engine: ${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}"
 echo ""
 
-# Read and substitute policy
-POLICY_STATEMENT=$(sed "s|\${GATEWAY_ARN}|${GATEWAY_ARN}|g" "$POLICY_FILE")
+# Step 1: Create or get Policy Engine
+echo "1. Setting up Policy Engine..."
+POLICY_ENGINE_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-policy-engines \
+    --query 'policyEngines[?name==`BackofficePolicyEngine`].policyEngineId' --output text 2>/dev/null || true)
 
-# Delete existing policies and wait for deletion
-echo "1. Cleaning up existing policies..."
+if [ -z "$POLICY_ENGINE_ID" ]; then
+    echo "   Creating new Policy Engine..."
+    POLICY_ENGINE_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control create-policy-engine \
+        --name "BackofficePolicyEngine" \
+        --query "policyEngineId" --output text)
+    
+    echo -n "   Waiting for ACTIVE"
+    while [ "$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-policy-engine --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+        --query 'status' --output text)" != "ACTIVE" ]; do
+        echo -n "."; sleep 3
+    done
+    echo " Done"
+else
+    echo "   Using existing Policy Engine: ${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}"
+fi
+
+POLICY_ENGINE_ARN="arn:aws:bedrock-agentcore:${AWS_REGION}:${ACCOUNT_ID}:policy-engine/${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}"
+
+# Step 2: Delete existing policies
+echo ""
+echo "2. Cleaning up existing policies..."
 EXISTING=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-policies \
-    --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+    --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
     --query 'policies[].policyId' --output text 2>/dev/null || true)
 
 for PID in $EXISTING; do
     echo "   Deleting: $PID"
     aws bedrock-agentcore-control delete-policy \
-        --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+        --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
         --policy-id "$PID" > /dev/null
     
-    # Wait for deletion to complete
     while true; do
         STATUS=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-policy \
-            --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+            --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
             --policy-id "$PID" \
             --query 'status' --output text 2>/dev/null || echo "DELETED")
+        [ "$STATUS" = "DELETED" ] || [ -z "$STATUS" ] && break
+        sleep 2
+    done
+done
+echo "   Done"
+
+# Step 3: Create permit policy (Cedar is deny-by-default)
+echo ""
+echo "3. Creating permit policy..."
+PERMIT_STATEMENT="permit (principal, action, resource == AgentCore::Gateway::\"${GATEWAY_ARN}\");"
+
+PERMIT_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control create-policy \
+    --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+    --name "PermitAllActions" \
+    --validation-mode "IGNORE_ALL_FINDINGS" \
+    --definition "{\"cedar\":{\"statement\":$(echo "$PERMIT_STATEMENT" | jq -Rs .)}}" \
+    --query 'policyId' --output text)
+
+echo "   Policy ID: $PERMIT_ID"
+
+# Step 4: Create forbid policy
+echo ""
+echo "4. Creating forbid policy..."
+FORBID_STATEMENT="forbid (principal, action == AgentCore::Action::\"backoffice___cancelTrip\", resource == AgentCore::Gateway::\"${GATEWAY_ARN}\");"
+
+FORBID_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control create-policy \
+    --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+    --name "ForbidCancelTrip" \
+    --validation-mode "IGNORE_ALL_FINDINGS" \
+    --definition "{\"cedar\":{\"statement\":$(echo "$FORBID_STATEMENT" | jq -Rs .)}}" \
+    --query 'policyId' --output text)
+
+echo "   Policy ID: $FORBID_ID"
+
+# Step 5: Wait for policies to become ACTIVE
+echo ""
+echo "5. Waiting for policies to become ACTIVE..."
+for PID in "$PERMIT_ID" "$FORBID_ID"; do
+    for i in {1..30}; do
+        STATUS=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-policy \
+            --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+            --policy-id "$PID" \
+            --query 'status' --output text)
         
-        if [ "$STATUS" = "DELETED" ] || [ -z "$STATUS" ]; then
+        if [ "$STATUS" = "ACTIVE" ]; then
+            echo "   $PID: ACTIVE"
             break
+        elif [[ "$STATUS" == *"FAILED"* ]]; then
+            echo "❌ Policy $PID failed"
+            exit 1
         fi
         sleep 2
     done
 done
 
-# Create new policy
+# Step 6: Add IAM permissions for gateway role
 echo ""
-echo "2. Creating policy..."
-POLICY_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control create-policy \
-    --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
-    --name "ForbidDangerousOperations" \
-    --validation-mode "IGNORE_ALL_FINDINGS" \
-    --definition "{\"cedar\":{\"statement\":$(echo "$POLICY_STATEMENT" | jq -Rs .)}}" \
-    --query 'policyId' --output text)
+echo "6. Adding IAM permissions..."
+cat > /tmp/policy-permissions.json << EOF
+{
+    "Version": "2012-10-17",
+    "Statement": [{
+        "Effect": "Allow",
+        "Action": "bedrock-agentcore:*",
+        "Resource": [
+            "${GATEWAY_ARN}",
+            "${POLICY_ENGINE_ARN}",
+            "${POLICY_ENGINE_ARN}/*"
+        ]
+    }]
+}
+EOF
+
+aws iam put-role-policy \
+    --role-name mcp-gateway-role \
+    --policy-name PolicyEngineAccess \
+    --policy-document file:///tmp/policy-permissions.json
 
-echo "   Policy ID: $POLICY_ID"
+echo "   Waiting for IAM propagation..."
+sleep 10
 
-# Wait for ACTIVE
+# Step 7: Attach policy engine to gateway
 echo ""
-echo "3. Waiting for policy to become ACTIVE..."
-for i in {1..30}; do
-    STATUS=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-policy \
-        --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
-        --policy-id "$POLICY_ID" \
-        --query 'status' --output text)
-    
-    echo "   Status: $STATUS"
-    
-    if [ "$STATUS" = "ACTIVE" ]; then
-        echo ""
-        echo "✅ Policy deployed successfully!"
-        exit 0
-    elif [[ "$STATUS" == *"FAILED"* ]]; then
-        echo ""
-        echo "❌ Policy deployment failed"
-        exit 1
-    fi
-    sleep 2
+echo "7. Attaching policy engine to gateway..."
+MCP_GATEWAY_ROLE_ARN=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-gateway \
+    --gateway-id "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" --query 'roleArn' --output text)
+
+aws bedrock-agentcore-control update-gateway \
+    --gateway-identifier "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" \
+    --name "mcp-gateway" \
+    --role-arn "${MCP_GATEWAY_ROLE_ARN}" \
+    --protocol-type "MCP" \
+    --authorizer-type "AWS_IAM" \
+    --policy-engine-configuration "{\"arn\":\"${POLICY_ENGINE_ARN}\",\"mode\":\"ENFORCE\"}" \
+    --no-cli-pager > /dev/null
+
+echo -n "   Waiting for gateway READY"
+while [ "$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-gateway --gateway-id "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" \
+    --query 'status' --output text)" != "READY" ]; do
+    echo -n "."; sleep 3
 done
+echo " Done"
+
+# Save to .env for cleanup script
+if ! grep -q "MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID" "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" 2>/dev/null; then
+    echo "" >> "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
+    echo "# Policy Engine" >> "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
+    echo "MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID=${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" >> "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
+fi
 
-echo "❌ Timeout waiting for policy"
-exit 1
+echo ""
+echo "✅ Policies deployed successfully!"
+echo ""
+echo "Policies:"
+aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-policies \
+    --policy-engine-id "${POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+    --query 'policies[].{Name:name,Status:status}' --output table
+
+echo ""
+echo "Gateway:"
+aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-gateway --gateway-id "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" \
+    --query '{PolicyEngine:policyEngineConfiguration.arn,Mode:policyEngineConfiguration.mode}' --output table
diff --git a/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/14-mcp-policy-cleanup.sh b/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/14-mcp-policy-cleanup.sh
index 9aede11a..d1147aa3 100755
--- a/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/14-mcp-policy-cleanup.sh
+++ b/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/14-mcp-policy-cleanup.sh
@@ -1,46 +1,92 @@
 #!/bin/bash
-# Cleanup Cedar policies from MCP Gateway
+# Remove Cedar policies from MCP Gateway
 set -e
 
 SCRIPT_DIR="$(cd "$(dirname "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")" && pwd)"
 
+# Load environment
 if [ -f "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env" ]; then
     source "$SCRIPT_DIR/.env"
 fi
 
-echo "Cleaning up policies from engine: ${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}"
-echo ""
+# Set defaults if not in .env
+AWS_REGION=${AWS_REGION:-$(aws configure get region)}
+ACCOUNT_ID=${ACCOUNT_ID:-$(aws sts get-caller-identity --query Account --output text)}
 
-POLICIES=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-policies \
-    --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
-    --query 'policies[].policyId' --output text 2>/dev/null || true)
+# Get gateway ID if not set
+if [ -z "$MCP_GATEWAY_ID" ]; then
+    MCP_GATEWAY_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-gateways --query 'items[0].gatewayId' --output text)
+fi
 
-if [ -z "$POLICIES" ]; then
-    echo "No policies found."
+# Get policy engine ID if not set
+if [ -z "$MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID" ]; then
+    MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-policy-engines \
+        --query 'policyEngines[?name==`BackofficePolicyEngine`].policyEngineId' --output text 2>/dev/null || true)
+fi
+
+if [ -z "$MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID" ]; then
+    echo "No policy engine found."
     exit 0
 fi
 
-for PID in $POLICIES; do
-    echo "Deleting: $PID"
-    aws bedrock-agentcore-control delete-policy \
-        --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
-        --policy-id "$PID" > /dev/null
+echo "Removing Cedar policies..."
+echo "  Gateway: ${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}"
+echo "  Policy Engine: ${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}"
+echo ""
+
+# Step 1: Detach policy engine from gateway
+echo "1. Detaching policy engine from gateway..."
+CURRENT_POLICY=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-gateway --gateway-id "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" \
+    --query 'policyEngineConfiguration.arn' --output text 2>/dev/null || echo "None")
+
+if [ "$CURRENT_POLICY" != "None" ] && [ -n "$CURRENT_POLICY" ]; then
+    MCP_GATEWAY_ROLE_ARN=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-gateway \
+        --gateway-id "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" --query 'roleArn' --output text)
     
-    echo "  Waiting for deletion..."
-    while true; do
-        STATUS=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-policy \
+    aws bedrock-agentcore-control update-gateway \
+        --gateway-identifier "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" \
+        --name "mcp-gateway" \
+        --role-arn "${MCP_GATEWAY_ROLE_ARN}" \
+        --protocol-type "MCP" \
+        --authorizer-type "AWS_IAM" \
+        --no-cli-pager > /dev/null
+    
+    echo -n "   Waiting for gateway READY"
+    while [ "$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-gateway --gateway-id "${MCP_GATEWAY_ID}" \
+        --query 'status' --output text)" != "READY" ]; do
+        echo -n "."; sleep 3
+    done
+    echo " Done"
+else
+    echo "   No policy engine attached to gateway"
+fi
+
+# Step 2: Delete all policies
+echo ""
+echo "2. Deleting policies..."
+EXISTING=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control list-policies \
+    --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+    --query 'policies[].policyId' --output text 2>/dev/null || true)
+
+if [ -z "$EXISTING" ]; then
+    echo "   No policies to delete."
+else
+    for PID in $EXISTING; do
+        echo "   Deleting: $PID"
+        aws bedrock-agentcore-control delete-policy \
             --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
-            --policy-id "$PID" \
-            --query 'status' --output text 2>/dev/null || echo "DELETED")
+            --policy-id "$PID" > /dev/null
         
-        if [ "$STATUS" = "DELETED" ] || [ -z "$STATUS" ]; then
-            echo "  ✅ Deleted"
-            break
-        fi
-        echo "  Status: $STATUS"
-        sleep 2
+        while true; do
+            STATUS=$(aws bedrock-agentcore-control get-policy \
+                --policy-engine-id "${MCP_POLICY_ENGINE_ID}" \
+                --policy-id "$PID" \
+                --query 'status' --output text 2>/dev/null || echo "DELETED")
+            [ "$STATUS" = "DELETED" ] || [ -z "$STATUS" ] && break
+            sleep 2
+        done
     done
-done
+fi
 
 echo ""
-echo "✅ All policies cleaned up!"
+echo "✅ Policies removed. Gateway restored to full tool access."
diff --git a/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/backoffice-policy.cedar b/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/backoffice-policy.cedar
index 7dd69a58..d3bd6d39 100644
--- a/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/backoffice-policy.cedar
+++ b/apps/java-spring-ai-agents/scripts/backoffice-policy.cedar
@@ -1,6 +1,14 @@
 // Backoffice MCP Gateway Policy
-// Forbid dangerous operations - everything else allowed by default
+// Cedar is deny-by-default, so we need permit-all first, then forbid specific actions
 
+// Permit all actions on the gateway (required - Cedar denies by default)
+permit(
+  principal,
+  action,
+  resource == AgentCore::Gateway::"${GATEWAY_ARN}"
+);
+
+// Forbid dangerous operations (takes precedence over permit)
 forbid(
   principal,
   action in [