Woolwich: Scotland Yard defends police response time

Scotland Yard has hit back after questions were raised about how long it took officers to reach the scene of the terrorist murder in Woolwich.

Assistant Commissioner Simon Byrne said that officers reached Artillery Place within nine minutes of the first 999 call telling them a man was being attacked. It took 10 minutes for firearms officers to reach the scene after they were alerted to the presence of a gun.

He said: “I would like to address some of the speculation as to how long it took the Met to respond as this incident started to unfold.