Number of Met Police firearms officers to increase after terror attacks
Britain's biggest police force is set to reveal a boost in the number of firearms officers in the wake of terrorist atrocities involving marauding gunmen.
Scotland Yard is preparing to make an announcement on Thursday including the scale of the planned increase, which was mooted following the recent attacks by fanatics in Paris which saw 130 people killed.
In a LBC radio interview on Wednesday, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe told Nick Ferrari that a "significant" announcement will be made in the next 24 hours.
There are currently around 2,000 firearms officers in the Metropolitan Police and the number of armed patrols was increased after the murders in France.
Last month UK counter-terrorism bosses revealed for the first time that police marksmen are being told to walk over casualties and go forward to confront terrorist gunmen should there be an attack.
Assistant Commissioner Patricia Gallan said then that there was likely to be an increase in the number of trained firearms officers in the capital.
Outgoing City of London Police Commissioner Adrian Leppard also suggested that the Army could be called in to man armed cordons if there were multiple gun and bomb attacks, as in the French capital.
Sir Bernard revealed he is meeting with armed officers every two weeks in a bid to maintain morale, after he raised concerns that marksmen should have greater protection in the wake of a fatal shooting.
This followed the death of Jermaine Baker, 28, during a police operation to stop an alleged prison break in north London in December.
He said: "I've actually met a very large number of our firearms officers after the incident in Haringey to see how they felt, what their complaints might be and I've got a taskforce running now.
"I'm seeing a group of them every two weeks with things that I've put in place to encourage more officers to feel that they've got confidence that I'm supporting them, and in turn the public are supporting them."
Prime Minister David Cameron is considering legal changes to make it more difficult to prosecute police marksmen who shoot terrorists.
Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow home secretary, said: "Labour gives this a cautious welcome after successfully forcing George Osborne to back down on his planned cuts to the police at the Spending Review.
"Today's announcement sounds like good news in the wake of the Paris attacks but we do have to ask where the money is coming from.
"If it's taken out of neighbourhood policing so we see police officers come off the beat, or if it's money that isn't then available to other big cities around the country, then that wouldn't be right."
