Londoners were today urged to “demand a return” from Mayor Sadiq Khan for the extra money being given to help fight knife crime and other offending in the capital.
Policing minister Nick Hurd said that from April the Met would be getting its largest funding increase since 2010 because of the Government’s decision to allow Mr Khan to raise council tax by £2 a month for a typical household.
Mr Hurd insisted that the money, which will be boosted by increased government funding, would help police tackle the “horrifying rise in knife crime” and other “complex” criminal threats that the capital was facing.
But he warned that Mr Khan — who has repeatedly blamed previous funding cuts to the Met and public services for contributing to rising crime — would have to spend the money efficiently to ensure that it delivered results.
Forces nationwide will receive an extra £970 million this year, although only by pushing more of the funding burden onto local politicians.
The minister’s comments came ahead of a vote today in Parliament on this year’s police funding settlement.
Mr Khan responded by promising to use the money to recruit at least 300 extra police officers as part of an enhanced effort to tackle knife crime, but has continued to accuse ministers of short-changing the Met.
Mr Hurd today insisted that the extra money being approved by Parliament showed that the Government had listened to calls for extra police resources and urged Londoners to hold Mr Khan to account if he failed to use the money successfully.
“We have heard City Hall’s calls for additional resources. Extra funding is coming from the Government — but like other Londoners, I expect to see the results,” the minister told the Standard.
“The Mayor must make his case to the public and they should demand a return on their added investment in the shape of better local policing and hold him accountable for it.”
The Mayor’s plan to increase council tax will be voted on later this month and, if approved, come into effect in April.
