The Metropolitan police unveiled on Wednesday their new-look fast-response team for anti-terror actions: equipped with grey Kevlar body armour, Sig Sauer MCX carbine guns, Glock 9-millimetre sidearms, "ballistic" shields and hydraulic rams – and riding BMW motorcycles.

Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe said the terror threat was more of a concern after recent attacks in Europe, and he wanted more armed officers patrolling busy parts of the capital, to reassure the public and deter attackers.

"We know that the threat level is severe and that an attack is highly likely," he told the Evening Standard. "Iconic parts of London will see more armed police but ultimately we will be patrolling the areas that have the most people.

"The reality of having to deal with armed and deadly attackers is that you need firearms officers who will use force to stop those attackers in their aim. Our firearms officers are the ones who will run towards the danger. They are our heroes."

Sites such as the Oxford Street shopping strip are likely locations for the new armed patrols.

Sir Bernard had previously announced the number of armed police in the capital would increase from 2100 to 2700, after a review of London's ability to respond to a Paris-style terror attack.

Another major terror attack was likely on UK soil, Sir Bernard said, telling one newspaper it was a question of "when, not if".

However, he did not believe all police should be armed – pointing out that French police were armed, but had not been able to prevent the attacks.

The key was to have a mobile, fast-response unit that would arrive quickly and in force at the site of an attack.

Not everyone was happy with the new face of London policing, with some Londoners telling the BBC it made them feel more nervous than secure, and others concerned about the increased potential for police brutality.

The announcement came as armed French police began patrols on cross-Channel ferries, in an exercise made more complicated by the fact the police had no jurisdiction in UK waters: meaning they had to arrive on the ferry by helicopter and board it as it approached France.