Police warn against cuts following Paris attacks

Senior officers write to Theresa May to warn cuts will 'seriously impact' their ability to deal with a Paris-style attack. Credit: PA

Police officers have warned the Home Secretary that planned cuts to officer numbers will "severely impact" their ability to deal with a Paris-style attack.

In a letter sent to Theresa May following the atrocity, senior police officers states: "Police forces across England and Wales have already seen a reduction of 40,000 officers and further losses will severely impact on our surge capacity..."

The Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham has called for the government to rethink the cuts to police forces ahead of next week's spending review, saying they would be "dangerous and put public safety at risk".

In a letter to the Home Secretary, Mr Burnham said:

A spokeswoman for the National Police Chiefs' Council said: "Following the tragic terrorist attack in Paris last week, we have been reviewing our ability to respond to a well organised, multi-sited terrorist in the UK. Our officers are well trained and equipped and we are constantly evolving to meet the threat from terrorism.

"As you would expect, we are discussing our capacity to respond to an attack like the one in Paris with the Government. These discussions include assessments of the number of officers we have to counter terrorism and the impact of future funding cuts.

"We do not comment on leaked documents, which form part of these important discussions."