CEP Senior Advisor Ian Acheson quoted: “... Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and counter-terrorism expert at the Home Office, told i: “Airports all over the world now have routinely armed officers patrolling. Their main purpose is to stop terrorists committing a mass casualty event. “While we should wait for due process in relation to the Manchester incident, as a wider point we must ensure armed officers have the support of the public and the government to carry out their vital protective role. “We can’t know how many attacks these men and women have thwarted and we owe them our full support to carry out their tasks professionally within the law.” Mr Acheson said he believes policing bosses responsible for retaining volunteer firearms officers will be examining the Manchester Airport incident “with particular interest”. Though police officers are not allowed to join a trade union by law, they are represented collectively by the Police Federation.”