Khan criticises cuts to London’s police budget
LONDON does not receive the “right level of funding” for policing, the city’s mayor has claimed, as the Met Police Commissioner called for more resources in the wake of the London Bridge attack.
Sadiq Khan praised officers for doing a “fantastic job” with the resources they have but said it was “a fact that, over the last seven years, we as a city have lost £600 million from our budget – we have had to close police stations, sell police buildings and we’ve lost thousands of police staff”.
Mr Khan, who was speaking alongside Cressida Dick at the scene of Saturday’s attack, said: “Over the next four years there are plans to cut a further £400 million from our city’s policing budget.
“There are plans to change the police funding formula which could mean we lose up to £700 million on top of that, which leads to a total loss of our policing budget of £1.7 billion and we don’t receive the right level of funding as a capital city we should receive.
“We receive half the funds we should be receiving – £170 million versus £370 million.”
His comments come after Theresa May refused to say whether cuts to police numbers under her watch should be reversed.
The Prime Minister was repeatedly challenged over her record as home secretary when she presided over cuts that have seen 20,000 fewer police officers on the country’s street.
At an election campaign event in London, Mrs May said: “Cressida Dick has said that the Metropolitan Police are well resourced – and they are, she has said they have very powerful counter-terrorism capabilities – and they do.
“We have protected counter-terrorism policing budgets, we have funded an uplift in the number of armed police officers.”
She was speaking as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn stepped up his attack on her record, calling for her to resign as Prime Minister for presiding over cuts in police numbers while home secretary.
Mrs May said that since 2015 police budgets had been protected “despite the fact that Jeremy Corbyn’s front bench suggested that police budgets should be cut by up to 10%”.
She added: “It is also about the powers you give to the police and I have been responsible for giving the police extra powers to deal with terrorism.
“Jeremy Corbyn has boasted that he has opposed those powers and opposed the powers for anti-terror actions throughout his time in Parliament. And I also support, absolutely, shoot-to-kill and I think what we saw on our streets on Saturday was how important that was.”
Asked directly if she would reverse the cuts to police numbers she said the counter-terrorism budget had been protected and funding for 1,500 more armed officers was in place. “But it’s not just about resource, it’s about the powers people have,” she said.
Ms Dick, asked whether she would demand additional officers, told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “Over the last several years, police services have in many respects become, it’s a ghastly phrase, but become very much more efficient, they have managed to do things in a more productive manner.
“We need to go on doing that in the future. But in the face of this changing and changed threat, absolutely I will be seeking for London and for policing generally more resourcing obviously.”