Heightened terror could put police ‘at risk’

Counter terrorism policing has been placed on an ‘emergency footing’ after recent attacks, leading to suggestion that policing could be at ‘significant’ risk.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the UK's top counter terrorism officer, has reportedly written to Home Secretary Amber Rudd, saying that the current counter terrorism policing network was not able to operate at ‘full strength’.

The Home Office has pledged a 30 per cent increase in counter terrorism funding by 2022, but Rowley has sought assurance that funding will not be diverted from mainstream policing as a result of the recent ‘emergency footing’.

The letter, which was sent earlier in June before the Finsbury Park mosque attack, included a plea to avoid ‘uncertainty over funding’ to ensure that chief constables did not ‘shy away’ from important operational changes.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has announced that the force is currently in talks to secure more funding after resources were left ‘stretched’ by terror attacks and a rise in violent crime.

Dick said: "We're stretched and I'm talking with the mayor and the government about the resources that we need. We undoubtedly need a very capable police service in the future for all the reasons people can see.”

Since 2013, the Metropolitan Police has had to make £600 million of savings and is due to lose an extra £400 million by 2020. According to London Datastore, violent crime has increased 63 per cent since May 2013, with gun crime experiencing a 54 per cent increase in the last two years.