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| Terror response warning to home secretary over police cuts | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Police cuts expected to be announced in next week's Spending Review may "reduce very significantly" the UK's ability to respond to a Paris-style attack, Home Secretary Theresa May has been warned. | Police cuts expected to be announced in next week's Spending Review may "reduce very significantly" the UK's ability to respond to a Paris-style attack, Home Secretary Theresa May has been warned. |
| The advisory comes in a restricted document prepared for Mrs May by one of the UK's most senior police officers. | The advisory comes in a restricted document prepared for Mrs May by one of the UK's most senior police officers. |
| It says the ability to mobilise large numbers of officers would "reduce very significantly across the country". | It says the ability to mobilise large numbers of officers would "reduce very significantly across the country". |
| The Home Office said it would not comment on a leaked document. | The Home Office said it would not comment on a leaked document. |
| The BBC has seen key paragraphs of the document, Implications of the Paris Attack for UK Police Preparedness. | The BBC has seen key paragraphs of the document, Implications of the Paris Attack for UK Police Preparedness. |
| It suggests further cuts to police budgets would affect the authorities' ability to respond to multiple attacks. | It suggests further cuts to police budgets would affect the authorities' ability to respond to multiple attacks. |
| 'Surge capacity' | |
| It is expected that Chancellor George Osborne could announce cuts to the police budget of more than 20% when he addresses Parliament on Wednesday. | It is expected that Chancellor George Osborne could announce cuts to the police budget of more than 20% when he addresses Parliament on Wednesday. |
| That is more than double what the document suggests is viable to keep numbers at the level required in the event of an attack. | |
| The government has committed to protecting the counter-terrorism budget. | |
| But the concerns in the document go beyond this specific budget. | |
| They are outlined in a letter to the home secretary dated 15 November and copied to the Treasury, Number 10 and the security services. | |
| It is understood to have been requested at a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra, on the day after the 13 November Paris attacks which killed 129 people. | |
| The letter cites worries over "surge capacity" - the need to mobilise large numbers of officers and resources in the event of a serious attack. | |
| 'Overarching concerns' | |
| It says: "It would be remiss of me not to highlight the impact further reductions in police force numbers would have on our ability to manage terrorist incidents of this magnitude, particularly if spread simultaneously across a number of geographical locations. | |
| "Police forces across England and Wales have already seen a reduction of 40,000 officers and further losses will severely impact our surge capacity, which is heavily geared and will reduce very significantly across the country unless a different funding settlement is found." | |
| The letter says the position of different police forces varies, but "the overarching concerns are the same". | |
| It adds: "These considerations are of course in addition to the need to sustain neighbourhood policing to maintain local trust and intelligence flows." | |
| Mr Osborne and Mrs May met on Thursday to try to finalise spending plans for the Home Office. |