Met has enough powers and resources says security expert

A LEADING terror expert accused Labour last night of trying to ‘mislead’ the public by suggesting police cuts played a role in attacks.

Lord Carlile, who served as the UK’s independent reviewer of terrorism legislation for ten years, said it was clear that the security services had the resources they need to deal with the threat.

Labour yesterday went on the attack over the 20,000 drop in police numbers since 2010, with Jeremy Corbyn even briefly suggesting Mrs May should resign over the issue.

But Lord Carlile dismissed the claim, saying: ‘This is a completely misleading argument and the Prime Minister is right about it.’

Asked if he believed the police have the powers and resources they need to deal with the terror threat, he told BBC2’s Daily Politics show: ‘I do, and [Met Police chief] Cressida Dick said so yesterday.

‘The argument about 20,000 community police officers has got nothing to do with terrorism. It is a completely different, if legitimate, argument. It is absolutely clear to all those involved, with knowledge of counter-terrorism policing and related issues that the authorities do have the resources they need and that they have been broadly very successful.

‘They have interdicted 18 plots in the last three or so years. But of course we do need to review our policy because of the changing activities of so-called Islamic State.’

Lord Carlile also called for the return of Control Orders, which were axed in 2011, to allow the house arrest of suspects.

He said the Terrorism Prevention and Investigation Measures which replaced them, and which have barely been used, had been watered down too much. The peer called for the ‘insertion into TPIMs of all the controls available under Control Orders because it works’.