The unveiling of additional armed police in London has been met with scepticism by the body representing rank-and-file officers as it said it would take two years for the targeted increase in marksmen to be met nationally.
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“In some of our big iconic locations, we’ve already got armed patrols – if you look at Parliament, Downing Street – so it’s not entirely new”.
There are five terrorism threat levels in the United Kingdom and they are set by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre and the Security Service – MI5.
The assistant commissioner thanked the public for their support, but said “even more public assistance” was needed to combat the terror threat, which has been listed as “severe”, the second highest level, since 2014.
Hundreds of people are also visiting online services, participating in counter-terrorism awareness events or watching a film setting out the steps they should take if they are caught up in an attack.
“So it’s important we get officers out there with firearms to respond where necessary but they are the same officers they were before, they’re part of British policing”.
“If you have got a family member who starts to behave as if they are then tell the police”.
The announcement follows a string of terror attacks across mainland Europe and warnings from the Met chief that an attack in Britain is a matter of “when, not if”. It is vitally important that standards are maintained.
It means the number has dwindled by more than 1,000 in the last five years.
Khan said: “The safety and security of all Londoners is my first priority, and our police and security services is working incredibly hard every day on our behalf. This increases overall numbers of firearms officers by 600 to 2,800”, he added.
“Or they will see somebody in their community – maybe a friend, a neighbour, or just an acquaintance, who they think is becoming more extreme”.
Speaking alongside him, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said that following the attacks in Nice, Paris, and Munich, the British authorities need to make sure that the people of London feel “reassured and safe”.
Britain’s senior counterterrorism officer, Mark Rowley, also has admitted police were preparing for “enormous and spectacular” attacks on the UK.
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Sir Bernard has said he can not promise that an attack will not take place despite being the man in charge of preventing them, reports the Independent. My team at Scotland Yard co-ordinate the national police effort across the country, working with specialist hubs in other regions.
