The Anti-Terrorist Branch (or SO13 by its designation) was 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 ...

(SO) branch of

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, formed to respond to terrorist activities within the capital and the surrounding areas.

History

The Anti-Terrorist Branch (originally known as the Bomb Squad) was formed in January 1971 to deal with the

Angry Brigade The Angry Brigade was a British group responsible for a series of armed actions against the establishment in England between 1970 and 1972. Using small bombs, they targeted banks, embassies, a BBC Outside Broadcast vehicle, and the homes of Con ...

. During the 1970s it assisted in the campaign against the IRA, alongside

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, ...

and the Security Service (MI5). In 2005, the branch had 345 officers attached to it, with funding for another 500 being sought. The

Metropolitan Police Commissioner The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February 2022. The rank of Comm ...

Ian Blair Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, (born 19 March 1953) is a British retired police officer who held the position of Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2005 to 2008. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1974 under a gra ...

, announced later that year that some of the specialist operations units were to be "re-aligned". In 2006 the Anti-Terrorist Branch and the Special Branch were merged, creating a new unit, the

Counter Terrorism Command Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Br ...

, or SO15.

Notes

External links

Metropolitan Police - Counter Terrorism Command
Defunct Metropolitan Police units 1971 establishments in England 2006 disestablishments in England {{UK-law-enforcement-agency-stub