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Met Police announces 600 more armed police for London

The Metropolitan Police has announced that it will train 600 extra armed police, in a bid to better protect the capital from a terrorist attack. The announcement follows the armed attacks in Paris last year, which led Scotland Yard to reassess its capability to respond to such an event. The extra officers will bring the total number of armed officers up to 2,800, with the number of armed response vehicles set to more than double. Met Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said that the decision had been made as the terrorist threat to the UK was likely to be a spontaneous attack that will require a fast response. £34 million has been made available by the Home Office to improve firearms capacity and help forces to effectively deal with a possible terrorist attack. Hogan-Howe said: "It will be an expensive option, but is vital to keeping us safe. "By increasing the number of armed response vehicle officers we have we can make sure that our firearms response continues to come from a group of highly specialist and highly skilled officers." Mayor of London Boris Johnson described the increase in armed police as ‘absolutely essential’. He said: "While this city remains one of the safest in the world, the terrible events in Paris last year remind us that we have to be prepared to meet any potential terrorist threat.” Chris Phillips, former head of the National Counter Terrorism Security Office, has raised concerns that the additional firearms officers will be localised to London, claiming that it is not the only UK city at risk. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Phillips said: "It does concern me a little bit that we are focusing so much on London whereas we know that the terrorist threat is actually worldwide and UK-wide. "The Home Office needs to rethink how they are divvying out the money for police forces. It is the terrorist who decides where they are going to attack. We have seen individuals who are terrorists living in other parts of the country and they could just as easily decide to attack Bristol or Portsmouth as London. "We need to understand that we do need to support for the constabularies around the country that have cities to protect. Those forces need the same level of support from the Home Office that the Met's getting today."

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