Police in London have reportedly been ordered to prepare for as many as 10 terror attacks happening at once across the capital, in a dramatic escalation of the capital’s readiness in the wake of the Paris shootings.

Quoting a Government minister with knowledge of the proposals for enhanced security, the Sunday Times reported that police had made cracking down on firearms a top priority.

It comes after an alleged gang of gunrunners appeared in court charged with smuggling an “evil” shipment of 22 Czech-made assault rifles and nine sub-machine guns into Britain from Eastern Europe.

In pictures: Mock terror attack in London Show all 5 1 /5 In pictures: Mock terror attack in London In pictures: Mock terror attack in London Mock terror attack A policeman approaches a gunman during the mock attack PA In pictures: Mock terror attack in London Mock terror attack Members of the rescue services tend to a casualty Reuters In pictures: Mock terror attack in London Mock terror attack An injured passer-by sits on the curb while a body lies nearby during the mock exercise PA In pictures: Mock terror attack in London Mock terror attack A police officer carries a casualty to safety Reuters In pictures: Mock terror attack in London Mock terror attack Members of the emergency services tend a casualty Reuters

The National Crime Agency (NCA), which was critical in the operation to arrest the suspects in that case, had reportedly been given new orders amid fears of a Paris-style attack involving terrorists returning from Syria using heavy weaponry.

The unnamed minister was quoted as saying: “We used to plan for three simultaneous attacks but Paris has shown that you need to be ready for more than that.

“We are ready if someone tries with seven, eight, nine, ten.”

According to the Sunday Times, army regiments outside London were also on standby to help the capital in the event of a major coordinated incident.

A spokeswoman for the NCA told the Independent the threat picture in the UK had “changed significantly” in the wake of recent attacks in Europe, including the Paris shootings.

London trains for terror

“The Metropolitan Police are the lead force in London, but we continue to work with our partners both nationally and internationally,” she said.