War on terror has left us at breaking point, warn police
POLICE chiefs are gearing up for a clash with the Government over funding as they tackle the unprecedented threat from Islamist terrorists.
Investigating four atrocities since March and smashing five suspected plots have stretched resources to near breaking point, say senior officers.
And the strain on manpower means counter-terror police may not be so successful in stopping future attacks.
Officers have been taken off other operations to deal with the workload and some non-terrorist investigations have been halted, Britain’s top police officer revealed yesterday.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick told the London Assembly: “The counter-terrorism network is certainly stretched.
“They have now had attacks to deal with disrupted five other plots.
“Those all take a great deal of backward-looking investigative resources and it takes potentially away from the proactive and forward-looking intelligence work.
“We have supplemented the national counter-terrorism network from some of our crime resources nationally and within London and we need to do that. This does have an impact on other, for example, investigations, we have had to pause some, we have had to slow down on some, and that is just a necessity.”
The Metropolitan Police has lost £600million from its budget in recent years and faces losing another £400million by 2021. Ms Dick said the overtime Met’s Cressida Dick yesterday four major and also
BRUSSELS JIHADI HAD NAIL BOMB IN SUITCASE
A TERRORIST shot dead by soldiers in Brussels had intended to commit mass murder with a nail bomb, it emerged yesterday.
The 36-year-old Moroccan identified only by the initials OZ, had been living in the Molenbeek district, notorious for jihadists.
He was killed after arriving at the Belgian capital’s Central Station on Tuesday night carrying what officials described as “a suitcase containing nails and some small gas canisters”. No one else was injured.
After triggering a small explosion he ran at an army patrol yelling “Allahu Akbar”, meaning “God is great”. A search of his home found materials used in the making of explosives. bill for the June 3 attack at London Bridge currently stands at £1.2million. She also revealed 260 investigators are working on the probe into the Grenfell Tower fire.
Ms Dick spoke after a letter from Britain’s most senior anti-terror officer to Home Secretary Amber Rudd was leaked to the BBC.
Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley warned other policing priorities in England and Wales could be at “significant” risk if resources are diverted to fight terrorism.
But First Secretary of State Damian Green told BBC Radio Four’s Today programme: “There are no police cuts. We have protected police budgets in this parliament. We have increased, hugely, the counter-terrorism budget.”
The Home Office said spending on armed policing and the security services would be boosted.
The National Police Chiefs Council said the UK was facing “an unprecedented terror threat”. A spokesman said: “As you would expect, we are having discussions with the Government about police funding.”
Police Tasered a suspected knifeman outside a mosque in London yesterday amid heightened tension following the Finsbury Park van rampage. But after disabling him at Regents Park, they discovered he was holding a shoehorn. A witness claimed the Muslim man has “mental
health issues”.