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Special Branch to be dissolved

Special Branch to be dissolved

The Metropolitan police’s 120-year-old Special Branch is to be broken up as the capital’s police force undergoes wholesale change, Sir Ian Blair has said.

Commissioner Blair announced the elite police force would be merged with the Anti Terrorist Branch to form a new Counter Terrorism Command.

The plans will see more officers on the street and the creation of two new police branches – one specifically to defend likely structural terrorist targets and the other to protect individuals deemed to be at high-risk.

Sir Ian said there would be 2,000 new officers in the new counter-terrorist unit and new improved policing facilities will be built across London

The changes, to be paid for through efficiency savings of £150 million, were welcomed by London Assembly Conservatives today. But they also raised doubts over the affordability of the plans, cautioning mayor Ken Livingstone and Sir Ian not to promise the undeliverable.