The Prime Minister has today announced a major counter-terrorism
training exercise will take place in Scotland later
this year to test multi-agency response that would come into
force in the event of a terror attack.
During a visit today to Police Scotland - which will act as the
lead force throughout the operation - she met a range of officers
involved in counter-terrorism, including some who were involved
in Police Scotland’s response to last week’s attacks in
Westminster.
The training is part of the UK government’s National
Counter-Terrorism Exercise Programme and brings together partners
from policing and security, the Armed Forces, UK Government
departments and the Devolved Administrations to test responses to
a major terrorist attack.
The Prime Minister said:
“The UK Government considers national security across the whole
of the UK as a top priority.
“Training operations such as this one play a significant part in
making sure police forces and other response agencies are able to
fully draw on the latest intelligence and resources from the
UK's security forces to protect against terrorism anywhere
on our soil.
“As the second largest force in the country, Police
Scotland are a key player in our fight against terrorism. I’m
grateful to them for the exceptional work they have been
delivering so far to prepare for this very important
counter-terrorismexercise.”
Lessons learnt from these operations are fed back to the
full range of operational partners, Government departments and
Devolved Administrations to further strengthen the UK’s response
to a terrorist attack on UK soil.
Only second in size to the Metropolitan Police Service, Police
Scotland works closely with other forces across
the UK and has an important role to play in the
development of UK-wide policing practices.
This system of agencies allows an effective joint response
to tackle terrorism and serious and organised crime throughout
the UK.
Police Scotland has automatic access to the UK’s
National Crime Agency and its international networks, as well
as the UK security agencies’ resources and their
interception and surveillance abilities.
Equally, it can draw on intelligence from the National Cyber
Security Centre, which does crucial work in protecting
the UK’s infrastructure and keeping us safe online.
The training exercise, which will take place in October, will
also involve areas in the north of England.
Cross-agency counter-terrorism responses take place regularly,
with exercises ranging from low capability testing to full scale
national operations, and this latest event is part of a routine
run.
