Secret plan to put 5,000 troops on Britain’s streets to fight terrorists

More than 5,000 armed soldiers could be deployed on to Britain’s streets in the wake of any major terrorist attack, it has been revealed. The plan - codenamed Operation Temperer - would see an unprecedented military response to terrorism if Islamic State or other fanatics struck in Britain. Details of the plan emerged after a secret document was mistakenly uploaded to a police chiefs’ website. The military contingency plan - in minutes from a closed session of the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) - has now been taken down. It came as David Cameron set off on a four-day trade tour of Malaysia and Indonesia, where terrorism is likely to be at the top of the agenda.

The minutes of the meeting were uploaded last Thursday afternoon and removed and revised early Friday morning when it was identified that details from the closed session had been included.

NPCC statement

Mr Cameron is planning to meet Indonesian president Joko Widodo in Jakarta and Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak. Speaking before his departure, he called on all countries to unite in the fight against IS. He said: “We will only defeat these brutal terrorists if we take action at home, overseas and online and if we unite with countries around the world, unite against this common enemy." Military activity amid the threat of terrorism has proven controversial in the past. For example, there was criticism of tanks at Heathrow in 2003, following warnings of a plot to shoot down a passenger jet. Meanwhile, surface-to-air missiles on rooftops and in parks for the 2012 London Olympics caused outcry among some residents in the capital.

All of us face a threat from foreign fighters and from increasing radicalisation within our countries and it’s right that we look at what help we can provide to one another.

Prime Minister David Cameron

Europe troops on streets