Our boys making us safer
Top cop: We need more resources to fight terror threat
NEARLY 1,000 soldiers were on the streets yesterday as Britain’s terror alert reached “critical” level.
Heavily-armed personnel helped to reassure the public at key London sites.
THERESA May has deployed up to 5,000 soldiers on the UK’s streets to combat the threat of terrorism.
She became the first Prime Minister to make the historic move in a show of force following the Manchester pop concert suicide bombing.
They are guarding strategic sites such as Buckingham Palace, Parliament and Downing Street in London.
And a 20-strong team of crack SAS troops was drafted into Manchester to support the police as they hunted down the terror cell behind Monday night’s attack that left 22 dead.
The special forces soldiers – who are under the direction of the police’s counter terrorist command – joined undercover officers and armed response units on the city’s streets.
Mrs May launched Operation Temperer – devised two years ago as an emergency measure in troubled times – to ease the pressure on police following the atrocity. She said the attack was “among the worst terrorist incidents we have ever experienced in the United Kingdom”.
Mrs May claimed the massacre stood out for its “appalling, sickening cowardice” for “deliberately targeting innocent defenceless children”.
The PM warned there will be “difficult days ahead” as security services try to work out how the bomber slipped through the net undetected.
But she stressed there was no need for panic as the British spirit would “never be broken” and terrorists will “never win”.
She added: “We can continue to resolve to thwart such attacks in future, to take on and defeat the ideology that often fuels this violence and, if there turns out to be others
responsible for this attack, to seek them out and bring them to justice.’’
Later this week Mrs May will travel to the G7 summit in Sicily to discuss anti-terror measures with world leaders, while election campaigning will resume tomorrow.
Critical
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said 984 soldiers were on the streets yesterday, but 3,800 more were on standby to join them should they be required.
The government also raised the terror threat level from “severe” to “critical” – meaning an attack is deemed imminent.
The Changing of the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace was cancelled yesterday to redeploy police officers while public tours and events in Parliament have also been halted. Police Federation chairman Steve White welcomed the decision to deploy troops, but also highlighted the fact forces were under-resourced.
He said: “As always the response of emergency workers in the face of adversity has been second to none.
“The welcome support of the military to free up armed officers and offer public reassurance will no doubt be managed in the same professional, resolute way.
“There is no ignoring the fact that we, the police, simply do not have the resources to manage an event like this on our own.
“As the service continues to try and keep up with emerging crime types and additional demand, both immediate resilience and resilience going forward will be an area requiring robust debate and tough decisions.’’