New anti-terror shoot-to-kill policy

The face of British policing has changed forever as a result of the first attacks by suicide bombers.

For several years, police chiefs have prepared for the day when fanatics who take their own lives would commit an outrage on British streets. After visits to Israel and Sri Lanka, which have suffered many suicide attacks, police had issued guidance to officers on how to tackle suspected bombers. But last week's atrocities have turned a theoretical exercise into one with a chilling relevance to everyday policing.

Armed officers responding to alerts will follow a "shoot-to-kill" policy, while further security precautions will be taken in buildings regarded as prime targets. It is also understood that fresh advice has been circulated to chief constables in the wake of last week's atrocities, and they have passed the information to frontline officers.

British planning for a suicide bombing predates September 11, but was given fresh impetus by the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. After leading a police delegation to Israel and Sri Lanka, Barbara Wilding, then a deputy assistant commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, produced a confidential report in 2003 on how to tackle the threat in Britain.

Its general advice for officers was not to challenge suspected bombers, but to alert anti-terrorist officers immediately. If the terrorist appears to be about to blow himself up, officers are told to move passersby discreetly away from him.

Armed police officers arriving on the scene will be operating a shoot-to-kill policy, aiming for the terrorist's head. They will not shoot at the chest, as is the practice in Britain, for fear that would detonate explosives strapped around the bomber.

Police are testing mobile or handheld scanners that can detect hidden weapons or bombs packed with nails and bolts. Work is also under way on how bomb-sniffer dogs can be used.

As a result of the attacks, public buildings will have to adapt their security checks. Metal detector machines are likely to be moved outside buildings to minimise the carnage if a bomb is detonated, and the number of entrances should be minimised.

- INDEPENDENT