Londoners will come to regret Boris Johnson's cut in police numbers

3.01.00pm GMT Wed 10th Feb 2010

Dee Doocey, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Policing Spokesperson and member of the MPA commenting on the Mayor's decision to push ahead with his budget proposals to cut police numbers in London

"The Mayor's decision to cut £16 million from the Police budget, to cut 455 police officers, and to reduce all Borough police budgets, is a slap in the face to Londoners."

"The Mayor said this morning that "the asset the police has could be put to better use" and I entirely agree. However, he has failed to justify spending £2 million a year to chauffeur senior Met officers to and from work, and to provide first and business class flights for them when they travel abroad. He has failed to justify increasing the amount of money spent on press officers for the Met from £6 million to £7 million, or the £9 million they spend on consultants."

"The Lib Dem amendment which the Mayor rejected would have increased the number of frontline police officers by 246, and double the number of officers fighting the war on child trafficking."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Through a costed amendment the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Group proposed to reverse the Mayor's £16.4 million cut in the Met police budget and to provide funding for an extra police officers in every ward in the boroughs with the highest levels of knife and gun crime. The budget amendment also proposed doubling the number of officers fighting the war on child trafficking.

For a full copy of the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Budget amendment see the report and briefings section of the website.