December 20, 2002	Friday	Shawwal 15, 1423

LONDON, Dec 19: Specially trained armed police officers are to be used on British domestic and international airlines as part of an ongoing series of measures to tackle terror threats, Britain announced Thursday.

“We are living in difficult and unpredictable times,” Minister of Transport Alistair Darling said in a press statement after announcing the move to parliament.

“This is one of a large number of additional measures taken in co-operation with the aviation industry by government since the September 11 attacks in the USA to further strengthen the UK civil aviation security regime,” Darling added.

“It is essential that we take every reasonable step to deter terrorist activities. By creating this capability we are taking a decisive step towards tackling that threat by adding to the range of other security measures available to us.”

Darling said the move to put sky marshals on planes followed a government decision earlier this year to reinforce in-flight security as part of the continuing review of aviation safety.

He stressed that although the threat to British aviation remained “a real one”, the new measure had not been developed, or announced, “in response to any new or specific intelligence”.

“The government will continue to work with the UK airline industry on sustainable measures for responding to the terrorist threat,” he said.

Search regimes for staff, passengers and their hand and hold baggage have all been stepped up, Darling said, adding that the range of articles not allowed on aircraft had been widened and the money allocated for airport policing increased.—AFP