Police outside cities would be 'sitting ducks' in event of terror attack

A national shortage of armed police means officers in rural areas would be "sitting ducks" in a terrorist attack, a Police Federation chairman has warned.

John Apter, chairman of Hampshire Police Federation, told BBC Radio 4 that some firearms units have to travel tens of miles when called out.

"You are not talking about a few minutes," he said. "So the only officers that you have available are unarmed and vulnerable officers and they are the officers that are saying to me that in a terrorist situation they would be sitting ducks."

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Home Office figures released in April show that the number of trained marksmen has dropped by a fifth in the past seven years, down by 1,259 to a total of 5,647, the lowest level since 1987.

The government has committed to increasing the number by 1,500, but Home Secretary Theresa May was today warned at the annual Police Federation conference that she might struggle to find volunteers.

Steve White, chairman of the national federation, which represents rank-and file officers in England and Wales, told the Home Secretary that officers fear they will be treated like murder suspects by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) if they have to discharge their firearm.

"If we are to have any chance of meeting the government's commitment to increase the number of firearms officers by 1,500 then those volunteering to take such a huge responsibility must have confidence that they will be treated as witnesses, not suspects, when assisting with IPCC enquiries," he said.

IPCC chairwoman Dame Anne Owers has hit back at White's comments, warning that police risk "appearing to be resistant to robust investigation" in fatal cases.

The "challenging and dangerous circumstances in which firearms officers operate" cannot mean that they have "impunity" from an independent investigation into fatalities, she said.

Earlier at the Police Federation conference, officers held a minute's silence to remember the 96 victims of Hillsborough. Theresa May told delegates that the tragedy should serve as a "touchstone" for how police respond to future events.