The UK agencies responsible for fighting terrorism — MI6, MI5, and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) — will see a significant increase in their combined £1.9 billion budget, an indication of the David Cameron Government’s concern about the growing terrorism threat the United Kingdom.

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, announced the government’s spending plans for the 2015-16 fiscal year. In addition to increasing the budget of the intelligence services, the budget also shows that police spending on counter-terrorism will be protected and will rise in line with inflation.

Osborne and the Prime Minister Cameron have said the agencies need more resources to tackle the growing terrorist threat from sub-Saharan Africa and Syria, and the rising problem posed by cyber terrorism.