Be prepared, keep calm, and carry on

The revelation this week that Kent Police is doubling the number of officers trained to use firearms is no surprise. It comes in a week during which the Met Police announced it is putting more armed patrols on the streets of London and when French ferry companies revealed they are preparing to introduce sea marshals to protect vessels making cross-channel journeys. More importantly, it comes after a wave of terrorist attacks on the continent over the summer – and the jailing this week of an Islamist madman for trying to behead a commuter at an east London tube station in December. Our constabulary insists there is no direct threat to the county, but with one elbow on London and one elbow on the English Channel, Kent has reason to be on alert. And security experts warn that in terms of another attack on Britain, it’s a case of when, not if. This explains why then Home Secretary and now Prime Minister Theresa May directed police forces across the UK to enlarge their armed response units. However, police forces are not increasing the number of officers in their ranks, but training existing officers in firearms use. The threat to western civilization from Islamic State-inspired terrorism is immense and will continue to grow. Armed police on the streets of London and armed response units ready for deployment are becoming facts of life in an increasingly insecure world. Despite the threat of terror, we owe it to ourselves not to let those who threaten our existence win – and to carry on with life as best we can.