MOSCOW, October 9 (RIA Novosti) - British Home Secretary Theresa May has shelved plans to review the country"s counter-terrorism policing structures in response to heightened security threats stemming from international terrorism, BBC News reported Thursday.
"The Home Office is committed to exploring the possibility of enhancing these capabilities in the longer term. And improving collaboration between police and agencies working on counter-terrorism and organized crime remains a high priority. But in light of the recent increase in the terrorist threat level we can confirm there will be no review of counter-terrorism policing during this parliament," the Home Office secretary was quoted as saying by BBC News.
May had plans to discuss the possibility of transferring terrorism policing from the Metropolitan Police to the new National Crime Agency (NCA), suggested by the Home Affairs Committee earlier this year, according to the BBC.
The decision was proposed after the publication of the Home Affairs 17th Report on Counter-Terrorism on May 9, 2014, which stated, "The Metropolitan Police have a wide remit which has many complexities and the current difficulties faced by the organization lead us to believe that the responsibility for counter-terrorism ought to be moved to the NCA in order to allow the Met to focus on the basics of policing London."
However, any plans to review the decision have been postponed until after the general election scheduled for May 7, 2015.
The delay has been attributed to the threat level from international terrorism which moved from substantial to severe at the end of August.
According to an August 29 announcement by the Home Office, the increase "is related to developments in Syria and Iraq where terrorist groups are planning attacks against the West. Some of these plots are likely to involve foreign fighters who have traveled there from the UK and Europe to take part in those conflicts."
The United Kingdom's Counter-Terrorism Command currently sits within the Metropolitan Police, with the force working with security and intelligence agencies as well as regional police units. The NCA celebrated its first anniversary on Wednesday and has been praised for its success so far, which includes more than 500 disruptions against serious and organized criminals and securing 300 convictions within its first six months of operation.
