SECURITY at Hampshire’s ports and airports is set to be beefed up to protect the UK against terrorists.

The Government says vital facilities such as the Port of Southampton and Southampton Airport will have high tech security measures installed to prevent extremists bringing bombs and chemical weapons into the country.

The new measures are part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review which lays out the UK’s blueprint for how to tackle a host of security issues and will see £178bn spent on a variety of measures.

It has been published in the wake of the deadly IS attacks in Paris, which claimed the lives of 130 people, and when the Belgian capital Brussels is currently on lockdown due to the highest possible threat level being in place.

The review is introduced by Prime Minister David Cameron, who says the world is “more dangerous and uncertain today than five years ago” due to the threat of IS and instability in the Middle East, the conflict in Ukraine and the threat of cyber attacks and pandemics.

The 96 page document says the UK’s borders are a “critical line of defence at which we can and do identify and disrupt threats to our security, including from terrorism and serious and organised crime”.

Southampton’s Port, the UK’s top cruise port and Europe’s most productive port, and the city’s airport are both in line for new technology alongside facilities across the country.

The report continues: “We will strengthen our ability to detect the movements of people and goods such as illegal firearms that present a threat, through detection technology and better data on land, sea and air passengers and cargo, and through intelligence and targeting.

“We will modernise and introduce more automation to enable us to deploy our border officials where they are needed most, including an enhanced presence at our sea ports.”

It warns that while “conventional” terrorist attacks using bombs and firearms are most likely, being described as a Tier 1 threat, there is also the risk of chemical and biological attacks which “may become even more likely and/or have a greater impact over the longer term”.

Airport security will see a boost, with the report saying the Government’s spending on worldwide airport security will be doubled.

Conservative Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith, pictured, whose constituency includes much of the port, said: “The people trying to harm us are not calming down - they are getting more dangerous.

Daily Echo:

“In my role I am trying to put Southampton on the map but in this case I would rather the people trying to do us harm didn’t think about Southampton.

“But the reality is that when you have ports and airports and thousands of people going through them, we should do anything we can to ensure those people are safe, things aren’t being smuggled in which could do us harm and that cars aren’t being put on boats with bombs strapped to them.

“It’s unlikely to happen but the Government is trying to mitigate for if it were to happen through the review.”

Eastleigh MP Mims Davies, whose constituency contains the airport, said: “We need to keep Britain open for business and for tourism because not to do so gives a victory to those who threaten us and that must not happen.

“I’m sure that the police, intelligence services and the airport owners and airline operators are doing all they can to ensure that all passengers and visitors to Southampton Airport are kept safe during this unprecedented terror threat.

“It’s clear this is a challenge in the present climate, but everyone locally and regionally recognises that the airport is a huge asset and that it’s vitally important it continues to see a smooth flow of arrivals and departures under the reassuring gaze of the professionals tasked with protecting us.”

The review, which is intended to be implemented in the next five years, also contains plans to deploy 10,000 troops in “strike brigades” on the UK’s streets in the event of a Paris-style attack; investing in high-altitude surveillance drones; building eight new naval frigates; accelerating the purchase of new F35 fighter aircraft; and spending an extra £2bn on equipment for special forces.

A spokesman for Associated British Ports, which runs the Port of Southampton, said: “Both the Home Office and the Department for Transport are the government bodies responsible for UK maritime port security.

“Each of ABP’s 21 UK ports support and facilitate their work.”

However the Government has also been warned, ahead of the Comprehensive Spending Review announcement today, that further cuts to police budgets could hamper the fight against terror, with some senior UK police officers warning against cuts to community policing.