Britain has armed police, but only where necessary. As I saw last night, our system works

Until last night, I always felt uncomfortable seeing police with guns on the UK’s streets. It’s just not very British, I used to think. But after I had the misfortune to be on London Bridge in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attack, I’ve changed my mind.

I was in an Uber with my wife heading south over the Thames. We saw one victim on the pavement, another in the road; the driver pointed out yet another up ahead. Soon people started running across from the Borough Market end of the bridge talking about ‘stabbings’. A black cab driver shouted at us: ‘It’s Westminster all over again.’ Then there was a flash of blue lights a few yards behind us, and I saw two policemen jump out of a 4×4, grabbing kit, hastily strapping on their helmets. They drew two submachine guns from the car.

"I saw police jumping out, pulling on helmets, getting guns out."