Brit cops scared to carry guns because they fear being ‘hung out to dry’ if they shoot the wrong person

BRITAIN is vulnerable to a Paris or Brussels-style terror attack because police officers fear being “hung out to dry” if they have to fire their weapons, it was claimed today.

Forces around the country are struggling to fill vacancies for armed officers because many believe carrying guns is just too risky, the Police Federation of England and Wales said.

Its chairman Steve White warned that Government's plans announced last month to train another 1,500 firearms officers to deal with the terror threat are unlikely to happen.

The warning comes as a survey of 16,800 officers showed that only one in five wanted to carry guns, despite increased fears of a terrorist attack in the UK.

Mr White said "Before we even start talking about recruiting the extra 1,500, we are struggling to fill the vacancies we have currently got because of the lack of understanding and protection that officers would have if they have to discharge their firearm.

"That's what this survey says - we do fear violence, but officers don't want to carry firearms because they are concerned that if they discharge it, they are going to get arrested for murder.

"But it is all connected with how officers are feeling - they are feeling vulnerable, they are feeling under threat. And if they are feeling like that ordinarily, why would they take the extra step to volunteer to carry guns?

"It is just more pressure, it is just more potential criticism.”

David Cameron announced last month that money will available to boost the number of firearms officers after terror attacks in mainland Europe.

Mr White's comments come days after the threat from Northern Ireland-related terrorism in Britain was raised from moderate to substantial.

The poll found that for many police officers, abuse, assaults and the threat of violence have become quite common.

officers don’t want to carry firearms because they are concerned that if they discharge it, they are going to get arrested for murder

Steve White, Police Federation

About 44 per cent of officers said they had received verbal threats at least once a month, while seven per cent said it happened daily.

Police minister Mike Penning said: "We ask our firearms officers to do a vital and uniquely challenging job on behalf of the public - to put themselves in harm's way, in situations where they may have to decide in a split second whether to shoot and, in certain circumstances, to take the life of a person who poses a threat to others.

"We will always ensure firearms officers are supported to take the difficult decisions necessary to protect the public, and that is why, earlier this year, the Home Secretary commissioned a review of the legal and procedural framework governing police use of firearms and post-incident investigation, which is ongoing.”

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