Counter-terrorism police will board London buses and patrol bus stops and stations as part of a team dedicated to thwarting terrorist attack in the capital.
The Met police has confirmed the new team will be backed by armed officers and will also patrol transport interchanges and carry out regular vehicle checks in key locations across the city.
The officers, part of the Met’s Roads and Transport Policing Command (RTPC), will also use sniffer dogs and number plate recognition during patrols while some officers will be stationed in CCTV control rooms to monitor the city.
The measures have been announced as the Met’s assistant commissioner Neil Basu has warned that investigations into extremist plots have reached a record high.
The force’s top anti-extremism officer warned Londoner’s not to become complacent over the festive period as London moves into Tier 3 restrictions.
The Met’s roads and transport unit has launched a new counter-terrorism team to bolster the city’s efforts to thwart a terrorist attack as investigations into extremist plots hit record high
The new team are being deployed as part of the force’s Project Servator – a specialist policing tactic ‘to deter, detect and disrupt a range of criminal activity, including terrorism, while providing a reassuring presence for the public’, the force says.
The officers are specially-trained to spot the signs that someone is planning or preparing to commit a criminal or terrorist act.
Their patrols include a mix of uniformed and plain-clothed officers who can show up at any time and in any location.
Inspector James Beattie, Roads and Transport Policing Command, said: ‘This is good news for the travelling public and bad news for anyone with terrorist or criminal intent.
‘The introduction of specially-trained RTPC Project Servator officers will make life even more difficult for potential terrorists and criminals to operate across London’s roads and transport network.
‘Consequently, we are making a safer and more secure environment for members of the travelling public.
The new Project Servator team will board buses, patrol bus stops and stations and carry out vehicle checks in key locations across London while some officers will be monitoring CCTV
‘Don’t be surprised if you see us pop up. It is nothing to worry about and we will be talking to members of the public and urging them to help us.
‘Defeating terrorism requires a collective community effort where police, security staff, retail workers and the public come together to minimise the chance of attacks.
‘The cooperation between the public and the police is a powerful defence against terrorism.’
The Met’s Project Servator teams have been operating across London since April 2018. Between then and November 2020, they arrested more than 1,000 people and have gathered over 2,000 pieces of intelligence relating to criminal activity.
The force says the new Project Servator team will provide an additional layer of protective security on the roads and transport network.
Pictured: Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu and the National Police Chiefs Council’s lead for counter-terrorism policing
This will bolster existing Project Servator patrols in busy areas such as shopping centres, around tourist attractions, the Square Mile and London’s airports.
The team will work in partnership with other Project Servator teams across the Met, City of London Police, British Transport Police and the Ministry of Defence Police.
It comes after the Met’s assistant commissioner Neil Basu urged Londoners to be vigilant this Christmas, despite the streets being quieter than usual.
He told the Evening Standard: ‘We don’t want people to become complacent.
‘We are at a severe threat level, meaning an attack is highly likely and we are there for a reason.
‘In the last two weeks we reached a historic high in the number of investigations that we are dealing with so it’s well over 800.
‘Depending where London ends up, I think people could be in danger of being complacent because they think a lack of crowded spaces or publicly accessible spaces means that the opportunity is less and the threat is lower.
‘But Streatham High Road proved that it isn’t just the iconic locations like Oxford Street that make the difference. If a terrorist wants to commit a terrorist offence they will.’
Mr Basu warned that lockdown had increased the possibility of those who are feeling isolated to radicalise themselves online and described them as ‘the greatest threat’.
Asst. Commissioner Neil Basu pointed to the attack in Streatham High Road (pictured), where a terrorist attacked three people before being shot dead by police, as an example of how terror attackers may not always target obvious tourist hotspots like Oxford Street in the UK’s capital
Last month, Home Secretary Priti Patel raised the UK’s terror threat level to ‘severe’ meaning an attack is ‘highly likely’.
The change, which was described as ‘precautionary’, came a day after a gunman in Vienna killed four people in a rampage overnight and a week after a Tunisian-born knifeman stabbed two women and a man to death at the Notre-Dame de Nice cathedral in France.
The latest threat level means an attack is highly likely, according to the government’s classification system. The previous ‘substantial’ level meant an attack was likely.
If you see or hear something suspicious, trust your instincts and ACT – Action Counters Terrorism. You can report in confidence at www.gov.uk/ACT or by calling 0800 789 321.
In an emergency always call 999.