UK Authorities Plan to Reduce Funding of Office for Security, Counterterrorism

London plans to reduce funding of the Office for Security and Counterterrorism (OSCT) from 586 million pounds (over $1.1 billion) to 824 million pounds, which is a drop of 3.7 percent before taking inflation into account, according to local media.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — UK authorities plan to introduce cuts by millions of pounds toward the funding of the Office for Security and Counterterrorism (OSCT), local media reported on Tuesday.

According to The Times newspaper, citing Home Office documents, the plans see the OSCT budget to be reduced from 586 million pounds (over $1.1 billion) to 824 million pounds, which is a drop of 3.7 percent before taking inflation into account.

The Home Office claims that most of the budget cuts will only fall on spending not related to counterterrorism, the media outlet added.

The OSCT is the agency responsible for development of the overall counterterrorism strategy of the United Kingdom, domestic as well and international, and cooperates with the police, MI5 and MI6.

In the course of the last few months, three terror attacks hit the United Kingdom. The latest one was carried out on June 3, when three men drove a vehicle into pedestrians on London Bridge before continuing in the direction of Borough Market. The men then left the vehicle and attacked several people with knives. Seven people died as a result of the incident, and 48 more were injured. The attackers were shot by police on the scene within minutes.

On May 22, an explosion occurred outside Manchester Arena at the end of US singer Ariana Grande's concert. The explosion killed 22 people, including 12 children, and left over 120 injured. The Islamic State (IS, a terrorist group banned in Russia and other countries) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Another attack took place on March 22, when a man drove his car into pedestrians on London's Westminster Bridge before attempting to enter the Parliament grounds. Five people were killed, including the attacker himself, and at least 50 more were injured.