London terror attack 'inevitable' says former Olympic policing chief

The police officer responsible for keeping London safe during the 2012 Olympics, Bob Broadhurst, has said a terrorist attack on the capital is "inevitable."

Speaking to BBC London, the former Met Police commander said: "It will happen at some stage, we don't know where, we don't know when and on what scale."

But the public should be reassured the city's emergency services had the skills and resources to respond effectively to an attack, he added.

The UK threat level from international terrorism has been "severe" since August 2014 which means an attack is "highly likely".

Scotland Yard says there is no intelligence to suggest a specific attack on London, but is urging the public not to be complacent to the higher threat level which it says has become the "new norm", specially after the attacks by the so-called Islamic State in Paris and Brussels.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu urged Londoners to "remain alert not alarmed" and help the 1,600 counter-terrorism officers by reporting anything suspicious.

BBC London's home affairs correspondent Nick Beake reports.