The threat of thousands of police job losses was unexpectedly lifted yesterday as the Government appeared to heed warnings that fresh budget cuts could hamper Britain’s response to a Paris-style terrorist attack.
The announcement that police spending would be protected was greeted with astonishment and delight by chiefs who had warned of a “considerable risk to national security” if the Government pressed ahead with anticipated further cuts. The body representing national police chiefs said it was grateful to the Chancellor, George Osborne, while the organisation representing rank-and-file officers said “sense had prevailed” after the loss of 17,000 officers since 2010.
Senior officers had warned that the loss of bobbies on the beat threatened to break the link between police and communities that supplied the intelligence which had the potential to thwart terrorist attacks. Police said they have scuppered seven plots in the past 12 months and are making an average of one arrest a day as part of their disruption efforts. “Now is not the time for further police cuts,” Mr Osborne said. “There will be real-terms protection for police funding. The police protect us, and we’re going to protect the police.”
Labour claimed the decision not to cut police budgets was made in the past 48 hours. Chief police officers were meeting in Manchester yesterday and gasps were heard when the news broke, witnesses present said. Andy Burnham, the shadow Home Secretary, said: “This U-turn is a direct result of the case against cuts on that scale made by Labour and intensified by the terrible atrocities in Paris.”
A further £500m was announced for the Home Office for counter-terrorism measures including money for extra firearms officers, a new service to analyse seized phones and computers for evidence, and improved intelligence checks at the border.
