Theresa May's decision to deploy almost 1,000 heavily-armed soldiers on the streets of London on Wednesday is a step her predecessor, David Cameron, deemed too risky to take after the Paris terrorist attacks two years ago. Cameron oversaw the introduction of Operation Temperer, which allows for the deployment of up to 5,000 troops in support of the police if a security threat warrants it.
He feared, however, that once soldiers are put on the streets, it would be difficult to send them back to barracks without declaring that the threat had subsided. The French experience bears this out, as the state of emergency François Hollande imposed in 2015 remains in force today. Belgium also had armed soldiers on its streets for months after they were introduced following last year's attacks there.
May's decision followed the raising of the intelligence services' threat level to critical, which is the highest possible and means that the security services believe an attack is imminent. Home secretary Amber Rudd pointed out on Wednesday that, on the last two occasions the threat level reached critical, it was reduced after a few days.
Terrorism
The last time Britain deployed troops on its streets in response to terrorism was in 2003, when Tony Blair sent 400 soldiers and three armoured vehicles to Heathrow airport after a plot to shoot down an airliner was uncovered.
May will hope that the latest deployment will not last too long, not least because the army is already too small to fulfil its existing commitments comfortably. The unexciting nature of the domestic deployments, guarding buildings such as Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, could also sap morale.
The use of soldiers in support of the police also exposes May’s failure to oversee an adequate increase in the number of armed police officers. The decision to increase the threat level was made by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) which brings together counterterrorism experts from the police, government departments and intelligence agencies, led by MI5.
Until JTAC decides to reduce the threat level, Britain can expect to see armed soldiers patrolling the streets alongside police officers.