Anti-terror chief tells police not to go out on the streets alone amid rising fears of a plot to murder an officer - as Met deploy hundreds more armed officers

• Advice issued by nation's counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley
• Fears of an attack raised after events in France that left 17 dead
• Among the dead in the atrocities in Paris were three police officers
• Last week Belgian police killed jihadists wanting to behead a policeman
• Mr Rowley advised force chiefs to abandon lone patrols where possible

By Abul Taher and Ian Gallagher for The Mail on Sunday

Police were last night urged to patrol in pairs for their own safety amid rising fears of a terrorist plot to murder an officer on UK streets.

The advice was issued by the nation's counter-terrorism chief as it was revealed that hundreds of extra firearms officers will be deployed across London.

Fears of an attack in Britain were raised after the atrocities in France that left 17 dead, among them three police officers.

And they intensified last week when Belgian commandos killed Islamic State (IS) fanatics who wanted to behead a policeman or judge in a plot echoing the murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

Assistant Commissioner Mark Rowley, the national police lead for counter-terrorism, has now advised force chiefs in England and Wales to 'review the safety and security of staff' urgently – and to abandon lone patrols where necessary.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2914986/Anti-terror-chief-tells-police-not-streets-amid-rising-fears-plot-murder-officer.html