No armed officers from the Thames Valley had been drafted in to cover shortages in London, the force confirmed.

It followed reports that dozens of Metropolitan Police officers were refusing to perform armed duties after one of their colleagues was charged with murder last week.

The BBC reported that around 100 of the Met’s almost 2,600 gun-carrying cops had handed back their armed ‘ticket’ - with cover drafted in from neighbouring forces.

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However, Thames Valley Police told the Oxford Mail it had not provided cover to the capital under ‘mutual aid’ rules. 

The tri-county force has more than 180 deployable armed officers, the largest number outside of London, Greater Manchester and West Midlands Police.

The armed forces were put on standby over the weekend over fears that London’s police force would need military back-up to help it cover its counter-terrorism duties.

But on Monday, Scotland Yard confirmed enough officers had returned to armed duties for it to stand down assistance from the military.

A National Police Chiefs Council spokesman said: “Mutual aid is routinely used to share officers across the country to ensure public safety, and so the National Police Coordination Centre is supporting the Metropolitan Police to ensure the force has the resilience it needs.”