Metropolitan Police set for 600 more armed officers

The number of armed officers in Britain's biggest police force will rise by more than a quarter after the Paris terror attacks.

Currently the Metropolitan Police have around 2,200 trained marksmen and this is set to rise by 600.

Announcing the plan, Scotland Yard chief Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said: "In the days following Paris I asked my firearms team to increase the number of armed response vehicles available on our streets, which we did. Now I have decided that we take the steps to increase these numbers on a permanent basis.

"To do so, the Met will now start putting plans in place to raise the number of armed officers that we have by 600. This increase will more than double the number of armed response vehicles on our streets and grow a highly trained specialist part of our capability.

"This is because we know that the threat we currently face is likely to be a spontaneous attack that requires a fast response to deal with it.

"This increase has started already and every day we are getting stronger. It will be an expensive option, but is vital to keeping us safe."