Metropolitan Police plans to close half its front desks in London to save money have sparked “anger and horror”.
If the number of counters is reduced from 37 to 19, it will break Scotland Yard’s pledge to have one accessible 24 hours a day in each of the capital’s 32 boroughs.
In a desperate attempt to balance a £260 million budget shortfall, leaked plans show only eight front desk will remain open 24/7, and there will also be reduced hours at 11 with them closing at 10pm weekdays and 7pm weekends.
In south west London, it is understood Twickenham, Merton, Wimbledon, Lavender Hill and Mitcham will lose their front desks meaning residents cannot walk in and speak to an officer face-to-face.
Kingston police station’s opening hours are likely to be reduced meaning nearest 24-hour counter to Richmond will be Acton, Sutton or Lambeth.
The Standard has also been told that Chingford police station in Waltham Forest is to be closed - meaning the nearest place to report a crime would be Stratford.
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, where a young woman was raped in the town centre, said: “Waltham Forest police informed me Chingford will close and residents will need to go to Stratford or online if they want to contact someone and that’s that - it’s the latest in a long line of examples of how the leadership of the police in our borough don’t seem to want to engage with the public at all.”
A Met Police spokesman said: “Just five per cent of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with the vast majority of Londoners doing it over the phone, online, or in person with officers elsewhere.
“Given the Met’s budget shortfall and shrinking size, it is no longer sustainable to keep all front counters open.
“That’s why we have taken the tough choice to pursue some closures and a reduction in hours – allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London.”
The Yard added it is focussed on modernising services and putting more officers on the frontline as “our budget and size shrinks”.
Lib Dem MP for Twickenham Munira Wilson said said the news would be met with “anger and horror by local residents”.
She added: “Axing Twickenham police station's front counter leaves the entire borough of Richmond without a single public access point for our local police.
“This is yet another sign that London’s policing is struggling as crime rises, both locally and across the capital, and the police are less visible and accessible to the public. Local residents will rightly be worried about their safety and the ability to report crime easily.
“The Government must urgently commit to funding the Met properly to rebuild community policing across London before it’s too late.”
Len Duvall, the chair of the London Assembly and a former Labour chairman of the now disbanded Metropolitan Police Authority, said the Met had to rethink the “deeply concerning” proposals.
There have been calls for an emergency meeting of the assembly to be held to debate the plans.
The proposals emerged while London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who is also the police and crime commissioner for London, was out of the country on a trade mission in South Africa.
My official statement on today’s reports that the Met are considering closing over half of our police stations👇 pic.twitter.com/4lsSFxeG0O
— Len Duvall AM (@Len_Duvall) July 18, 2025
Marina Ahmad, Labour’s London Assembly police and crime spokeswoman, said: “Keeping at least one public facing front desk open 24 hours a day in every borough was a pledge made to Londoners in the New Met for London strategy.
“Front counters allow Londoners to report crime in person, produce documents and provide a stable and visible police presence in the borough.
“The Met face significant budget pressures but closing over half of our city’s front counters is not the answer.
“The Met must urgently rethink these proposals.”
Lib Dem Assembly Member Gareth Richards, who also serves as leader of Richmond-upon-Thames Council, added: “The decision to axe half of London’s police counters will come as a massive shock to many Londoners.
“At a time when crime, and the fear of crime, is on the rise across the capital, this not only sends the wrong message, but is yet more evidence that Sadiq Khan is failing to make the case to the Labour Government for the funding needed to keep London and Londoners safe.”
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has been forced into “substantial tough choices” despite funding increases from central and local government.
Amid an epidemic of violent crime, mobile phone snatches and shoplifting across London, senior officers warn the “rapidly shrinking Met” must slash services.
The force is axing 1,700 police, staff and community support officers.
Units protecting eight Royal Parks have been disbanded, despite fierce opposition from councils and victims, 371 safer schools officers are slashed, along with cuts to forensics, mounted police and the Flying Squad.
