Police chiefs condemn call to strip Met of counter-terrorism powers

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/may/09/police-chiefs-met-counter-terrorism-powers

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Chief police officers have condemned a call by a committee of MPs to strip Scotland Yard of responsibility for counter-terrorism powers.

The home affairs select committee called for the new National Crime Agency (NCA) to be in charge of counter-terrorism policing rather than the Metropolitan police.

The MPs' report suggested the Met was struggling to cope with the role after a series of "difficulties". The committee did not specify what these were, but the report comes after a series of high-profile scandals, including the Plebgate affair, undercover policing, the shooting of Mark Duggan, and the manipulation of crime statistics.

The report said: "The Metropolitan police have a wide remit which has many complexities and the current difficulties faced by the organisation lead us to believe that the responsibility for counter-terrorism ought to be moved to the National Crime Agency in order to allow the Met to focus on the basics of policing London."

The MPs expressed alarm over the apparent ease with which the terror suspect Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed escaped from a control order – or Tpim – last November when he disguised himself in a burqa after removing an electronic tag in a mosque.

The committee noted that the Met said it was satisfied with its response to the case and that the system did not need improving. The committee suggested this was complacent. It said: "It is deeply worrying that anyone who is subject to a Tpim, or those who were subjects of control orders, can abscond with relative ease. We recommend that a review of the types of measures placed upon subjects needs to be conducted to ensure that enough is being done to prevent absconsion."

The report said the UK's counter-terrorism command, which is run by the Met, should "immediately" begin to switch to the NCA. The agency should have full operational control by 2018, the committee said.

The Association of Chief Police Officers said the committee had failed to understand the Met's current role. In a statement, it said there was no evidence to suggest any benefit from switching responsibilty for counter-terrorism to the NCA.

It said: "Counter-terrorism policing is not directed through a single lead force but rather has responsibility vested in nine chief constables across the UK in areas where the threat is considered to be the greatest.

"These chief constables act collaboratively and effectively on behalf of all forces, while at the same time maintaining close and critical links into local policing."

The report was also highly critical of the ineffective oversight arrangements of Britain's intelligence agencies. It said the disclosures by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden had exposed the British system as stuck in a "pre-internet age".