Police to have mass destruction attack teams

Every police force in the country is training a team to deal with a chemical or nuclear attack on Britain.

The Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) confirmed a programme was under way to ensure all 43 forces in England and Wales are prepared for a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) attack.

Acpo's David Kelly, who is also Assistant Chief Constable of Kent police, told Police Review magazine it was vital to ensure forces were fully prepared to deal with such incidents.

"By the end of May we will have completed a programme that ensures every force has at least one trained and equipped police support unit to ensure it has some CBRN capability," said Mr Kelly.

Larger forces such as London's Metropolitan Police and Greater Manchester Police are expected to have more than one team each.

Acpo also hopes that forces' existing chem-bio suits - which were supplied by the Army - will be replaced with modern equipment by September, said Mr Kelly.

He added that although CBRN capabilities had been crucial post--September 11, forces had been examining the issue since the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo underground.

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