"The mayor was concerned by reports about the use of armed officers," begins a statement from his press office, "but has been reassured by Sir Paul Stephenson there is no intention of using armed police in routine manner".
He said the pair were arrested by armed police using "specialist tactics" at the Dalgarno Gardens housing association complex in Ladbroke Grove after they had refused to give themselves up.
Dramatic raids by armed police using CS gas, dogs and battering rams had resulted in several arrests but none of the alleged bombers was in custody.
Units of the armed police, sometimes using tear gas and occasionally using live ammunition, are frequently used to disperse irate crowds of unpaid workers or complaining farmers.
Would police now use armed robots whenever they get nervous, perhaps against public protesters?
Images of armed police officers using pressurised water, pepper spray and tear gas against unarmed youngsters sparked a widespread reaction, creating an unprecedented backlash against the government and unleashing old resentments.
Again, armed police would be no use.
Instead, the prospect now is of a paralyzed urban center and planned student sit-ins, an uncompromising government and armed police ratcheting up the use of force.
Drone strikes abroad, he said, must rest on "the same basis on which armed police in our streets can use lethal force".
He continued: "If you look at the SAS, or the armed police who guard airports, they use Heckler & Koch 9mm guns that are meant for close proximity combat.
