Scotland Yard today announced that it will deploy 600 additional armed officers around the British capital's major sites to deter terrorists and reassure public in the wake of terror attacks in Europe.
"Anyone who's been following events in Europe over the past few weeks will understand why we want to show our determination to protect the public," said Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe.
He said the heightened armed presence is intended to deter terrorists and reassure the public and tourists.
"The reality of having to deal with armed and deadly attackers is that you need firearms officers who will use force to stop those attackers in their aim. Our firearms officers are the ones who will run towards the danger," he said.
The Met chief stressed that the force was not reacting to any specific intelligence.
"We have seen attacks in Germany, Belgium and France and we would be foolish to ignore that, so it's important that we get officers out there with firearms to respond," he said.
The additional armed officers will be visible to the public and will work across London, both on foot and in vehicles, he said.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said safety and security of all Londoners is his first priority, and police and security services are working "incredibly hard every day".
He added: "It's really important that Londoners are reassured that the police service, that the security service, that all of us are doing our bit to keep Londoners in our city safe. That means Londoners will see more armed response officers, they will see more armed vehicles."
"The threat level has not changed but we are learning the lessons from Europe, from Nice, from Paris, from Munich," he said.
In line with British policing methods, the majority of London police officers do not carry firearms.
With today's announcement, the number of armed officers on patrol will increase by 600 to bring the total within the force to 2,800.
The terror threat level in the UK remains at "severe", meaning an attack is "highly likely".
