Met compulsory body vests warning

Officers in four London boroughs already wear body armour

The Met may make wearing body vests compulsory after officers were shot at in east London.

Ten shots from a machine gun were fired into a police vehicle in Leytonstone, slightly grazing a female officer.

Deputy Commissioner Sir Ian Blair said the attack could have been "the most serious for a decade".

Bullet and stab proof vests are already worn at all times by officers on patrol in the boroughs of Hackney, Haringey, Newham and Waltham Forest.

Sir Ian said some of the bullets sprayed at the vehicle in Leytonstone High Street passed through and went into a Chinese restaurant.

Boroughs say they must have that support quickly Deputy Commissioner Sir Ian Blair

"That potentially could have left us with a number of dead officers and changed the landscape of policing irretrievably.

"A review of what instructions need to be given on wearing ballistic vests is to be carried out.

"Boroughs are saying they must have that support available quickly."

The car from which the shots came last Saturday was later found burnt out at the junction of Idmiston Road and Globe Road.

Two 17-year-old boys arrested were released with no further action.