Met Police to axe 1,700 officers and staff despite funding boost

The UK’s biggest police force will cut 1,700 officers and staff, despite receiving funding increases from central and local government.

Transcript

00:00So, as you might be able to see there is actually an ongoing protest outside New Scotland Yard.

00:06I believe this is completely unrelated to what we're talking about today, but it does

00:11perhaps point to some of the pressures currently being faced by the Met. Nonetheless, this

00:16is a really big development for policing in London. The Metropolitan Police is now expected

00:23to lose 1,700 people from the force, made up of officers, PCSOs and police staff. Scotland

00:31Yard has admitted this move, which is intended to plug a £260m budget shortfall, would put

00:39an extraordinary stretch on its staff. This all comes despite funding increases from both

00:46City Hall and the National Government. The Metropolitan Police said it also needs to

00:54axe services, including the Royal Parks Police. Richmond Council unsurprisingly expressed

01:01deep disappointment over this decision and said it raised serious concerns about the

01:08future safety of Richmond Park, Bushy Park and other green spaces in London. The cuts

01:15are also likely to see the removal of dedicated officers from schools. These cuts all come

01:23despite a record £1.16bn for the Met from City Hall for the coming year. The Mayor of

01:30London, Sir Sadiq Khan, has blamed this particular funding crisis on the previous Conservative

01:37governments, suggesting they chronically underfunded the Metropolitan Police.