London: London's newly-elected mayor, Sadiq Khan, has ordered an urgent review of the city's security strategy to make sure it is prepared to respond to a major terrorist attack.
The city's first Muslim mayor, who won by a landslide victory earlier this month, appointed a former chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Lord Harris, on Friday to analyse the city's ability to cope with a major attack.
Read: London mayor Sadiq Khan says he speaks for all, not just Muslims
"Nothing is more important to me than keeping Londoners safe," Khan said.
"I want to be reassured that every single agency and individual involved in protecting our city has the resources and expertise they need to respond in the event that London is attacked," he said.
Lord Harris, who is also a member of the city's joint committee on the National Security Strategy, will report his findings in the next few months.
"It is quite clear that terrorists want to attack London. They have attacked Paris. They have attacked Brussels. They have tried to attack London in the past. We have got to make sure we are constantly vigilant. I have asked Lord Harris to carry out an urgent independent review to reassure me that our city is prepared for, God forbid, a major terrorist incident," Khan added.
The review will look at how the city would cope if multiple attacks were launched, examining the arrangements in place across all the emergency services.
The emergency services along with Transport for London, the Port of London Authority and local government representatives will be contacted as part of the review.
Scotland Yard police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, said: "Although we are confident the Met
(Metropolitan Police) can deal effectively if terrorists did strike our city, and we test ourselves regularly, we are never complacent about the city's security and recognise that there will always be ways in which we can improve."
