LONDON, United Kingdom (Reuters) – Armed police will patrol trains across Britain for the first time, British Transport Police said on Thursday (May 25).
It comes after the threat level was raised to critical following a suicide bombing in Manchester this week. British Transport Police Chief Constable Paul Crowther said in a statement that the move was not due to any specific intelligence related to trains but was part of the national plan to deal with the continuing threat.
Still photographs showed armed officers on trains in Milton Keynes. Soldiers and armed officers were also seen patrolling the streets of central London.
Armed officers have been regularly patrolling the London Underground since December last year, but this will be the first time they have will have patrolled on board train services elsewhere in the country, the police said.