Scotland Yard publicly showcased its latest Counter Terrorism Unit dubbed C-Men in an article by the Dailymail.

This new unit is equipped with SIG’s MCX Carbine. One of the officers is shown with a SIG 516 Patrol Rifle. A close up is shown below.

One thing I noticed on the MCXs, is that they do not run the front sight at the very end of the handguard. You can see that on all three MCX rifles in the photo below.

Metropolitan Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe that more armed patrols would take to the streets of London. According to the Dailymail, there are 600 officers all armed with firearms.

In the article, Sir Bernard made this statement:

Speaking in Hyde Park, Sir Bernard said: ‘People aren’t fools – they know that in the event that there is a firearms attack, we are going to have to respond with firearms.

‘They pass through airports where we have armed officers, they pass through railway stations where they see firearms.

‘In some of our big iconic locations, we’ve already got armed patrols – if you look at Parliament, Downing Street – so it’s not entirely new.

‘I think people understand that where you are going to have people as enemies who’ve got guns, we’ve got to have guns.

‘It’s unusual, but it’s an entirely rational and reasonable response to make sure that people are aware that we’ve got the guns, and if we have to use them we’ve got people well-equipped to do that.’

I have issue with that statement. They understand that firearms are necessary to stop someone armed with a firearm. However only these guys can do it. Majority of the UK citizens do not have firearms or access to firearms. Especially not for self defense purposes. Sir Bernard is trying to assuage people’s concern for armed officers on the streets. Just last year, almost to the day, we saw Scotland have a kneejerk reaction to an armed officer talking into a market to buy lunch and take it to go. Click here to see that article.

The other part I have issue with is the mentioning of Downing Street and Parliament. Below is what you typically see at these locations. I wrote an article about British police armed with SMGs last year while I was touring the UK. I noticed these armed officers at places of money and power. They do not seem to be there to save the lives of ordinary citizens. If they were then why are they only at these locations? Perhaps a London local can shed more light on armed officers out in the public that perhaps I did not see? Are they more common that I witnessed? According to the Dailymail the Met has increased armed officer patrols in public parks. Which is where the photo below comes from.

This new CT group have BMW F800GS motorcycles.

This new Counter Terrorism group seems like a show of force more as a deterrent. Hopefully they will not be needed. While London is a target, who knows if terrorists will change focus. Look at the attack at Nice, France. Who could have predicted they would attack there?