Cameron Declares Crackdown on Illegal Smuggling of Weapons Across Borders

MOSCOW, January 12 (Sputnik) — UK Prime Minister David Cameron has urged security chiefs during a Monday government briefing to crack down on arms smuggling across national borders to reduce the risk of a terrorist attack similar to the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

"They [security chiefs] also discussed the risk posed by firearms, agreeing that our existing tough firearms laws are a very important part of the protections we have and that we should step up our efforts with other countries to crack down on the illegal smuggling of weapons across borders," the prime minister's press release read.

The briefing was convened in the wake of a series of terrorist attacks last week that shook France and the world.

Participants of the briefing have agreed to identify specific elements of the attacks that could be included into regular exercise scenarios used by UK security teams to test terrorist threat response measures.

"The Prime Minister also asked the police and military to continue to work closely together to ensure that the police can call on appropriate military assistance when required across the country," the press release said.

Last week, France was shaken by a string of terrorist attacks, beginning Wednesday when two brothers killed 12 people at the office of the satirical Charlie Hebdo magazine. On Friday, a terrorist who reportedly had links with the Charlie Hebdo killers, shot and killed four hostages at a Paris kosher food shop before being shot dead by police. The previous day a police female officer was killed by the same attacker.

Following the attacks, UK Home Secretary Theresa May announced the introduction of precautionary measures on the UK-French border.