Madrid atrocity: Could London be next?

The new Metropolitan police chief has said he wants to make London the safest city in the world but conceded that an attempted terror attack is "inevitable".

On his first day in the job as Britain's most senior policeman, Sir Ian Blair said protecting the Capital from terrorists was his top priority but added that gun and knife crime are an equal menace.

The incoming Met commissioner faces the daunting task of leading London's frontline defences against groups such as al Qaeda, which have indiscriminately taken thousands of lives in major cities such as New York, Washington and Madrid.

But unlike his predecessor Sir John Stevens, he denied that they would necessarily be successful.

"I do not know whether a successful attack is inevitable. What I do know is that an attempted attack is inevitable and my ambition is to ensure it is not successful," Sir Ian said.

"It is making too much fuss about a play on words. It is not for me to be saying that a successful attack is inevitable [but] ensuring that we do not have a successful attack is going to be difficult."

He said his position on the issue was similar to that of Sir John, but has a different emphasis.

In-tray

Sir Ian added that London's gun and knife crime culture would also be at the top of his in-tray at New Scotland Yard.

"It is obvious that the fundamental duty of the Metropolitan Police is to protect the people of London and the UK from terrorist atrocities," he argued.

"That must be the overriding priority but there has to be a balance. We have to deal not only with that but also with the men of violence.

"We have guns and knives and we have to deal with prolific offenders."

However he insisted that low-level crime and nuisances would not be forgotten.

"We now have the resources to go further and further towards our ambition to make London the safest major city in the world, working in the heart of the communities that make up our city," Sir Ian said.

"We know people do not define how safe they feel by crime statistics alone.

"They define it by how their neighbourhood, their journey to work and their leisure time is affected by anti-social behaviour and yobbery."