British police firearms officers have been trained by the SAS to shoot terrorists in the head amid the growing threat from Islamist fanatics, The Telegraph reported on Friday.

Police chiefs insist there is no “shoot to kill” policy within British policing but accept that such actions are likely to “prove fatal”.

Armed officers have been working alongside special forces to ensure they can best tackle a marauding gun and bomb attack like the ones witness in Paris and Mumbai.

A record number of the officers was on the streets of London on New Year’s Eve amid fears terrorists were planning to target festivities.

Events in Paris and Brussels were cancelled while police in Munich shut two railway stations after receiving specific intelligence from the French that Isil fanatics were planning to target the city.

Scotland Yard has already doubled the number of firearms officers on the street at any one time in the wake of November’s Paris attacks, which left 130 dead.

But Simon Chesterman, the deputy chief constable of the Civil Nuclear Constabulary and national lead on armed policing, has revealed officers have also been trained to deal with attackers decisively.

“Police forces in the UK do not have a ‘shoot to kill’ policy, armed officers are trained to use as much force as is reasonable in the circumstances,” he said.

Source: MENA