British police warn against arming officers

LONDON (AFP) - A top British policeman warned on Wednesday against rushing into any vmove to routinely arm officers after two unarmed policewomen were killed in a gun and grenade attack.

Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, died after going to investigate a reported robbery in Tameside, Greater Manchester, northwestern England, on Tuesday.

The killings have reopened a long-running debate about whether British police should regularly carry weapons like their counterparts in the United States and other countries. Most British police officers do not routinely carry weapons, although armed police do however protect sensitive sites and all forces have armed response units. An increasing number also carry Taser stun guns.

But MrHugh Orde, the president of Britain's Association of Chief Police Officers and a former police chief in Northern Ireland, cautioned against such a move.