Less than 10 per cent of officers in Britain are trained to use weapons

Frontline police officers will carry handguns for the first time to cope with the terrorist threat in rural areas, under plans being considered by chief constables.

Officers responding to emergencies in remote locations where firearm units cannot be deployed quickly would be routinely armed.

Simon Chesterman, of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said that the proposal was being considered in areas of England and Wales where it was prohibitively expensive to have fully trained specialist units on standby.

Britain has a tradition of unarmed policing and less than 10 per cent of officers are trained to use weapons.

A recruitment drive after Isis attacks in Europe has boosted the number of firearms specialists in the past two years by 1,351 to nearly 6,500. The total