London’s police officers should be armed with handguns to stop knife attackers in the capital, a secret Metropolitan Police review recommended.
The Met should consider regularly arming cops with semi-automatic pistols to ensure their safety, the internal report, seen by the Telegraph, said.
Police officers in the UK do not carry guns, only specialist firearms officers. Those specially-trained officers are deployed for landmark events, at airports, or to destroy dangerous animals. The review came after two Met officers were stabbed in Leicester Square, central London, in 2022 when a 25-year-old man managed to fight past batons, Tasers and PAVA pepper spray to attack them.
Police bosses are believed to have axed the idea because of the UK’s culture of policing by consent. It was felt that routinely arming officers with deadly weapons would under mine that long-held principle.
A spokesman explained that Scotland Yard followed national guidance from the College of Policing which “does not support the arming of all front-line officers”. However, batons and pepper spray will be given to all officers and 10,000 offices will be equipped with tasers by summer 2027.
In recent years, police officers have been injured in the line of duty on numerous occasions. Notably, during the Hainault sword attack, where 14-year-old Daniel Anjorin was killed, a female constable was slashed in the head and hand.
Over the weekend, 26 Met Police officers were injured at Tommy Robinson’s ‘Unite the Kingdom’ march in central London.
Rory Geoghegan, a former police officer and the founder of the Public Safety Foundation, said: “Across Europe and much of the rest of the world, routine arming has not destroyed legitimacy – it has saved lives.”
The former No 10 adviser, added: “What corrodes trust is not seeing a constable carry a pistol, but seeing one cut down by a knife or gunfire because their leaders denied them the tools to protect themselves and the public.”
A Met Police spokesman said: “The safety of our officers is of paramount importance and we are constantly reviewing our practices to ensure they have the most appropriate training and support.
“The Met follows national guidance from the College of Policing which does not support the arming of all front-line officers. All officers are however equipped with batons, PAVA spray, with thousands also trained to use a Taser.
“The Met’s specialist firearms officers consist of thousands of experienced officers. These officers play a vital role in keeping London safe and where there is a necessity, will be deployed to support their unarmed colleagues.”