Met police firearms

[Techie1 + 2,024]

Lord Ian Blair warns the Met will be a quarter less in size than when he left the force.

Lord Ian Blair

A former Metropolitan Police commissioner says it would be "an absurdity" to further cut the force's funding after recent events in London.

Lord Ian Blair called for a rethink over plans to cut hundreds of millions of pounds from the force's budget, saying this would leave the Met a quarter of the size it was when he left office in 2008.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan has warned the city has lost "thousands of police staff" since 2010, while the current Met Commissioner Cressida Dick said she would "obviously" be seeking extra resources.

"I think the crucial point now is to understand the cuts being considered, certainly for the Met, need reconsideration," Lord Blair told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"As far as I understand it they're supposed to lose a further £400 million by 2021, on top of £600 million in the last few years.

"That means the Met must be a quarter less in size than when I left."

Lord Blair, now a crossbench peer, went on to call for "no cuts", adding: "Looking at what is happening, the idea of continuously cutting the police service's budget seems an absurdity at this stage."

Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackay has said the Westminster and London Bridge attacks had put a "lot of stretch" on the Metropolitan Police.

The Metropolitan Police Federation has also warned that officers are fatigued and "stretched beyond belief" after a string of major incidents.

Lord Blair said these incidents would put extra pressure on specialist officers such as counter terrorism, adding: "It just seems a very strange time to be reducing the capabilities of a service which is holding the line against some terrible events."

The former commissioner said neighbourhood policing is crucial to building trust with communities, but is very difficult to maintain when major incidents happen and officers are needed elsewhere.

Lord Blair said it was "no surprise" Monday's attack at Finsbury Park Mosque had happened.

"There is this kind of new landscape of terrorism, which the new commissioner Cressida Dick described, where the weapons are knives from kitchens or just hiring a van," he said.

"It does create a very difficult problem for the police."

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[Cathedral Bobby + 1,174]

I am glad Lord Blair has waded in. Of course Boris Johnson did for him, as he did for many MetPol officers during his time at City Hall, ably supported by the Maybot. The term POLEAXED seems fitting for what they have achieved. Many POLICE have been AXED under their tenure.

[Milankovitch + 3,445]

37 minutes ago, Techie1 said:

Lord Ian Blair called for a rethink over plans to cut hundreds of millions of pounds from the force's budget, saying this would leave the Met a quarter of the size it was when he left office in 2008.

[Cathedral Bobby + 1,174]

I think he means a quarter less, although perhaps he knows something we don't. Perhaps it's not meant to be a 25% reduction in numbers but a reduction to 25%. Well the government are well on their way to achieving this. They have managed a 25% reduction in 7 years. By my calculation the police should be down to a quarter of their 2010 numbers by 2031. I jest - NOT

[Milankovitch + 3,445]

9 minutes ago, Cathedral Bobby said:

I think he means a quarter less, although perhaps he knows something we don't. Perhaps it's not meant to be a 25% reduction in numbers but a reduction to 25%. Well the government are well on their way to achieving this. They have managed a 25% reduction in 7 years. By my calculation the police should be down to a quarter of their 2010 numbers by 2031. I jest - NOT

It says a quarter less later on but you'd think somebody would give it a proof read before it goes out.