More armed police on West Midlands streets after Manchester bomb attack

Assistant Chief Constable Alex Murray said the force was looking at all upcoming events in the region, starting with Birmingham Pride this weekend which is set to attract thousands of people to the second city.

He said the decision to increase officers on the street was a direct response to the arena blast and not from intelligence that there was a pending attack in the West Midlands.

He said: "In response to the attack we will be looking at all the events taking place in the coming weeks and you can expect to see more police officers and more armed officers.

"We have invested massively in our armed police officers and there will be much more visible officers at these type of events.

"We risk assess all the events in any case which looks at how we can prepare and protect in these types of eventualities and in addition we will upscale police at these.

"Looking forward to the weekend, Birmingham plays host to Pride which is a large lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender event and we’re expecting tens of thousands of visitors to the city. This is an annual event with a parade, music and festivities which are enjoyed by many.

"I appreciate that people planning to attend may feel a sense of nervousness – I would like to take this opportunity to give you some reassurance that a full policing operation is in place and is subject to ongoing reviews.

"We will have a large number of police officers, specials and police staff on hand to keep the public safe – this isn’t only for the Pride event, but also for anyone visiting the city to enjoy all it has to offer."

Asked about how an attack like Manchester could be allowed to happen, he said: "The police work very hard with the security services to disrupt and deter these kind of attacks.

"The security services in this country are the best and have thwarted many, many terrorist attacks. This is not a police state and we cannot stop and search everybody.

"Sadly, some will get through the net and this is what has happened in this instance and I'm sure the counter terrorism unit in the North West will get to the bottom of this very quickly.

"We have a huge apparatus that works with events like these. We have counter-terrorism advisors, which has been expanded in recent years, who work with stadiums, big events, night clubs, and shopping centres to prepare for an attack like this or preferably to prevent one.

"Be reassured that work is going on and takes place in any case. That work goes on and we are adding to that putting more officers out and about those venues."