Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a
Specialist Operations
The Specialist Operations directorate is a unit of the Metropolitan Police in London, England. It is responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities, including national security and counter-terrorism operations. As of May 2025, the Spe ...
branch within
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's
Metropolitan Police Service.
The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the
Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and
Special Branch
Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...
(SO12) in October 2006, bringing together intelligence, operations, and investigative functions to form a single command.
CTC has more than 1,500 police officers and staff, and a number of investigators based overseas and also hosts the
Counter Terrorism Policing headquarters.
It originated in 1883 as the Irish Bureau, or Special Irish Branch as it became known, formed in 1883 at
New Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
by the then Home Secretary Sir William Harcourt. It consisted of just 12 detectives aiming to defeat the "Fenian" terrorist campaign that had been on-going in London and across the country. As of November 2013 the current form of CTC comprised 1790 staff including 1350 police officers and 600 detectives working in 75 specialist units with the capability to respond proactively or reactively anywhere in the world.
Responsibilities
According to Counter Terrorism Command's website,
the Command’s overriding priority is to keep the public safe and to disrupt
terrorist
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...
-related activity in the United Kingdom and against UK interests overseas by:
* Detecting, investigating, and preventing terrorist threats and networks.
* Working with partner agencies to acquire and use intelligence and evidence about terrorism and extremism.
* Ensuring that Counter Terrorism Command activity is focused, delivering value for money, productivity and an efficient and effective use of our resources.
* Engaging, building and maintaining working relationships with boroughs, local communities, national and international partners to better understand their needs and to use their expertise and experience in jointly combating the terrorist threat.
* Working with communities, partners, institutions, groups and other agencies providing advice and support to tackle the ideologies that drive terrorism and extremism.
* Supporting, working and collaborating within the Counter Terrorism Policing network.
The Counter Terrorism Command has a number of other national security functions. It deals with sensitive national security investigations, such as Official Secrets Act enquiries, the investigation of war crimes (effectively making it the successor to the Met's
War Crimes Unit) and crimes against humanity, and politically motivated murders.
Counter Terrorism Command is part of the Counter Terrorism Policing network.
It is overseen by the counter-terrorism coordination committee, chaired by Assistant Commissioner
Matt Jukes
Matthew Jonathan Jukes is a senior British police officer who is currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police Service. He previously served as Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations of the Metropolitan Po ...
of the Metropolitan Police Service.
As part of its role in the Counter Terrorism Policing network, SO15 operate against the threat of terrorism at a local, national, and international level and engages with a range of partners to prevent terrorist related activity, including the Security Service (
MI5
MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
) and Secret Intelligence Service (
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
).
Known operations
In its present form Counter Terrorism Command has been responsible for investigating several high-profile terrorist incidents, including:
*
Cargo planes bomb plot or "Printer bomb" (2010)
*
2017 Westminster attack
On 22 March 2017, a Terrorism, terrorist attack took place outside the Palace of Westminster in London, seat of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, British Parliament. Khalid Masood, a 52-year-old British people, Briton, Vehicle-ramming attac ...
*
Manchester Arena bombing
The Manchester Arena bombing, or Manchester Arena attack, was an Islamic terrorism in Europe, Islamic terrorist suicide bombing of Manchester Arena in Manchester, England, on 22 May 2017, following Dangerous Woman Tour, a concert by the Americ ...
(2017)
*
2017 London Bridge attack
On 3 June 2017, a terrorist vehicle-ramming and stabbing took place in London, England. A van was deliberately driven into pedestrians on London Bridge, and then crashed on Borough High Street, just south of the River Thames. The van's three occu ...
*
Poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal
The poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal, also known as the Salisbury poisoning, was a botched assassination attempt to poison Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military officer and double agent for the British intelligence agencies in the cit ...
,
2018 Amesbury poisonings
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number)
* One of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short story ''God's Dice''
* ''Eighteen'' (film), a 2 ...
*
2020 Forbury Gardens stabbings
On the evening of 20 June 2020, a man with a knife attacked people who were socialising in Forbury Gardens in Reading, Berkshire. Three men died from their wounds, and three other people were seriously injured. Khairi Saadallah, a 25-year-old L ...
*
Murder of David Amess
On 15 October 2021, Sir David Amess, a Conservative Party (UK), British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament for Southend West, was fatally stabbed at a constituency surgery at Belfai ...
(2021)
*
Liverpool Women's Hospital bombing
On 14 November 2021, a taxi carrying a passenger arrived at the main entrance of Liverpool Women's Hospital in Liverpool, England. An improvised explosive device (IED) carried by the passenger ignited, killing him and injuring the driver. The po ...
(2021)
Through the International Operations branch of Counter Terrorism Command, SO15 has proactively deployed officers around the world as well as in response to terrorist incidents in support of host countries and to investigate when British nationals are the victims of acts of terrorism. Such investigations include:
* Kidnap of Judith Tebbutt and the murder of David Tebbutt in Kenya (2012)
*
In Amenas siege (2013)
*
Westgate siege in Nairobi (2013)
*
Sousse attacks in Tunisia (2015)
Heads
This position is formally known as Head of the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command, and is given the title Commander or Acting Commander.
See also
*
Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) is an all-source intelligence organisation closely related to the United Kingdom Security Service which provides advice to the British government and firms within the Critical National Infrastructure ...
*
Counter Terrorism Policing
*
MI5
MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...
*
MI6
The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...
*
National Counter Terrorism Security Office
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office (NaCTSO) is a police unit. It is funded by, and reports to, the Home Office, which advises the British government on its counter-terrorism strategy.
The National Counter Terrorism Security Office sup ...
*
Metropolitan Police Specialist Firearms Command
The Specialist Firearms Command (MO19) is the firearms unit of the Metropolitan Police Service. Formed in 2005 but with antecedents dating back to 1966, the Command is responsible for providing a firearms-response capability, assisting the res ...
References
External links
Counter Terrorism Policing
{{Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan Police units
British intelligence agencies
2006 establishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 2006
Counterterrorism in the United Kingdom