The UK government will boost the amount it invests in intelligence and double spending in aviation security amid the increasing threat of Isis attacks.
Prime Minister David Cameron announced on Monday that the government would fund an extra 1,900 officers at its MI5 and MI6 spy agencies and GCHQ intelligence agency.
He said he plans on doubling the amount spent on aviation security over the next five years, which is currently around 9 million pounds a year. The funding will boost the number of aviation security experts who will have the task of regularly assessing security at airports around the world.
“I am determined to prioritise the resources we need to combat the terrorist threat because protecting the British people is my number one duty,” Cameron said in a statement.
“This is a generational struggle that demands we provide more manpower to combat those who would destroy us and our values.”
After the crash of a Russian airlines last month the UK plans a “step change” in aviation security. The Prime Minister is expected to bring up the topic of aviation security at the G20 summit in Turkey on Monday.
The funding will be announced in the government’s five-year defence and security review which will be published next week.
Funding will also go to research into screening technology to detect new threats.
The prime minister said: “Economic security goes hand-in-hand with national security. Since 2010, we have taken the tough decisions necessary to restore our economic strength and we now have one of the fastest growing developed economies.
“That means we can now invest more in our national security and I am determined to prioritise the resources we need to combat the terrorist threat because protecting the British people is my number one duty as prime minister.
“Our intelligence agencies work round the clock behind the scenes and, as the threat has grown, so they too have risen to the challenge. This is a generational struggle that demands we provide more manpower to combat those who would destroy us and our values.”
