More than 1,000 extra armed police are to be deployed on
Britain's streets to help tackle the growing threat of terror attacks, David
Cameron has announced.
The specially-trained officers will be based across England
and Wales as part of the Government's response to last year's mass-killings in
France.
Mr Cameron's announcement, made during a trip to Washington,
also comes less than two weeks since the bombings in Brussels which left 32
dead and more than 300 injured.
Some 600 of the new armed officers will be based in London,
with more than 400 in the rest of the country.
An additional 40 specialise armed response vehicles will
also take to the streets across England and Wales, the Prime Minister
announced.
He said: "Our police and intelligence agencies work
round the clock to keep us safe and it is absolutely vital that we support them
with the right resources and kit.
After the terrorist attacks in France last year, we
decided to look at whether there was more we could do to protect people from the
type of terrorist threat we now face.
That’s why we are increasing the number
of specially trained armed officers up and down the country to make sure the
police have greater capability to respond swiftly and effectively should they
need to do so.
Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, National Police
Chiefs’ Council lead for Armed Policing, said: "Over recent years we have
significantly enhanced the training, tactics and weaponry of armed officers to
ensure that they are capable of dealing with all types of terrorist
attacks.
We have also delivered enhanced
capability across all emergency services to deliver an effective joint
response.
"This additional uplift will ensure we are in an even
stronger position to respond quickly and effectively to protect the
public."
The announcement comes on top of Mr Cameron's announcement
last year that 10,000 troops will be made available to respond in the event of
a terror attack.
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