Cutbacks Clip U.K. Anti-Terror Effort

Budget worries are sparking a new debate in Britain, with spending cuts taking aim at police services in what some see as a threat to the country’s anti-terror efforts.

The country’s most senior anti-terror agent called the cutbacks “eye-watering” and said they will increase the risk of attack. —JCL

The BBC:

Britain’s most senior anti-terror officer John Yates has sparked a political row after he warned spending cuts would increase the risk of attack.

Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude reacted angrily to Assistant Commissioner Yates’s comments, accusing him of “shroud-waving” and “alarmism”.

But Labour’s Alan Johnson warned “we will all be in greater peril” if anti-terror operations are scaled back.

The Times said Mr Yates described the planned cuts as “eye-watering”.

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Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude accused the top U.K. anti-terror official of “alarmism.”