Extra 400 armed police for big cities - but '˜too soon' to reveal plans for Sheffield

David Cameron has announced hundreds more armed officers are to brought in to prepare the country to deal with a Paris-style attack, with 400 more being deployed to cities outside London including Manchester and Birmingham.

But a spokesman for Downing Street said the Government is not yet in a position to ‘break down’ whether extra officers will be employed in Sheffield.

The move comes after a Government review of the capacity and capability of Britain’s police forces to act in the event of ‘complex’ attacks, similar to that on Charlie Hebdo or the simultaneous strikes launched in Paris in November.

The recruitment drive aims to have 1,000 more armed police in place across England and Wales by spring 2018, with 400 ready to be deployed to cities including Manchester and Birmingham. It includes plans to have 600 extra armed police officers in London which were announced in January.

An additional 40 armed response vehicles and teams are due to be ‘up and running’ within the next 12 months, bringing the total number across the country to 150.

Funding for the increase will come from the £143 million set aside in the Strategic Security and Defence Review to increase armed response capability.

It comes after South Yorkshire police commissioner Alan Billings said the force has ‘increased its preparedness to deal with any emerging threat or incidents as they occur’ due to a potential attack on the UK being deemed ‘highly likely’.