Met Police to train 600 extra armed officers to counter terrorism

London’s top cop called for plans to increase the number of armed officers in the city by 600 in a bid to prevent a deadly terrorist attack similar to those seen in Paris and around the world.

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

Sir Bernard continued: “This increase has started already and everyday we are getting stronger”.

‘It will be an expensive option, but is vital to keeping us safe’.

The force announced a year ago that more firearms officers would be recruited in the wake of the gun and bomb atrocities in Paris.

Armed response vehicles routinely patrol London’s high gun crime boroughs and are manned by three specialist police marksmen armed with Glock pistols and Heckler & Koch carbines.

“To do so, the Met will now start putting plans in place to raise the number of armed officers that we have by 600”.

Senior U.K. counterterrorist officers say they now have a shorter window of opportunity to detect and intercept attacks, because plotting random gun attacks leave fewer clues in their wake than stockpiling explosives needed for a bombing, and can also be executed much more quickly.

“Individual chief constables and commissioners will take decisions about the number of armed officers required in their force”.

“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”.

“Still, around 92 percent of the Met will be unarmed”.

It follows the death of Jermaine Baker, 28, during a police operation to stop an alleged prison break in north London in December.

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.

“Nationally we are working with all police forces and the armed services to build our capacity at a national level to respond to a well organised, multi-sited terrorist attack in the United Kingdom”.

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Met Police Federation, said the increase in armed officers gave the Met the resilience in needed to counter a terror attack.