Government refuses to acknowledge "outrageous" Met Police cuts in London

Luke Taylor, MP for Sutton and Cheam and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for London, used his Prime Minister’s Question today to recognise that cuts to the Metropolitan Police in London will leave Londoners less safe.

It follows an announcement last month that the Metropolitan Police will reduce the number of twenty four hour police front counters to just two across the entire city - despite Mayor Sadiq Khan’s 2024 election manifesto pledge that he would keep one open in each of London’s 32 boroughs.

Earlier this year, the then Minister of State for Crime and Policing Dame Diana Johnson confirmed to Luke Taylor MP during a debate on the Crime and Policing Bill that the Met would be cutting 1,419 officers and staff in the next year.

Speaking from the Liberal Democrat frontbench at Prime Minister’s Questions, Luke Taylor MP asked: 

“Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with the Liberal Democrats and Sir Mark Rowley that a shrinking Met Police force compromises their ability to keep Londoners safe?”

In response, the Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy refused to acknowledge issues caused by the cuts, and quoted figures for national police funding:

“The previous government… critically underfunded the criminal justice system.

“We’re investing 200 million this year to put 3,000 more neighbourhood police on our streets by spring.”