The row over the imminent closure of many London police stations to the public has taken a new twist after Sir Sadiq Khan revealed he has been aware of the controversial plans since last year.
The London mayor said the proposals were part of Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley’s “tough choices” presentation, dating from last November or December, that set out how the force would concentrate on key priorities to cope with a long-term funding crisis.
However, politicians from all parties on the London Assembly say they did not learn of the threat to shut up to 18 police station “front counters” until July.
There are currently 37 front counters in operation across the Met, of which 32 are 24/7, with five open for a limited number of hours.
Under the proposals, only eight police stations in London would remain open round the clock.
Sir Sadiq, who made a manifesto pledge in the run-up to the 2024 mayoral election to keep a “24-hour police front office counter in every borough”, said this week that the closure of front counters was an “operational decision” for the Met.
Asked why he had broken a manifesto pledge, he said: “When the facts change, I change my mind.”
He said the front counter closures would save £7m – while keeping them open would be “wasting resources”.
He told Mayor’s Question Time at City Hall on Thursday: “Very few Londoners use the front counters – it’s just a fact.
“I would be a fool to be dogmatic and not follow the evidence from the police service.”
He was asked by Gareth Roberts, a Lib-Dem assembly member: “When exactly were you first made aware of this decision to axe front counters across London?”
Sir Sadiq replied: “It was in the ‘tough choices’ presentation the commissioner did in November/December, during one of the iterations of the [Met police] budget].”
Mr Roberts said: “So for the best part of a year you’ve known about this – but the assembly only found out in July.”
The Mayor is also the police and crime commissioner for London. He said Boris Johnson, who was mayor between 2008 and 2016, closed more than 80 front counters.
Many of the police stations would remain in use for officers and police staff but the public would not be able to report crimes in person or speak to officers about other issues of concern.
Police stations at risk include Chingford, Edmonton, Kentish Town, Kensington, Tottenham, Twickenham, Lavender Hill and Wimbledon.
Only 20 front counters would remain open across the capital, meaning residents in more than a third of boroughs would not have a local police station.
Of these, only eight would be open on a 24/7 basis, according to Hayley Sewart, the Met’s commander for frontline policing.
The others would be open during the week from 9am to 10pm and from 10am to 7pm at weekends.
The Met says that only five per cent of crimes are reported in person at a police station.
But critics say this still adds up to 50,000 crimes a year – and that the reporting of crime only amounts to a fifth of all visits to police stations.
Asked whether he was happy with the way the Met had communicated the closure plans, Sir Sadiq said: “On reflection, I think even the police would accept that things could have been handled differently. I apologise for that.”
The Met’s change of approach will mean an additional 500 officers being deployed in “community crime fighting” and town centre teams.
Mr Roberts told The Standard after the meeting: “The mayor stood for election last year on a clear promise that every Londoner would have a 24/7 police front counter in their borough.
“This week he finally admitted he’s known since last year that closure was on the cards, but chose not to say anything at all about it until this July.
“Now he's washing his hands of the decision entirely and saying it's an operational decision for the Met, but the fact is simple: he made a pledge to Londoners and he's broken it.
“Trust in both politics and policing is already fragile - the very least Londoners deserve is a mayor who keeps his word and fights to defend these vital services.”
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