London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of “gutting policing” in the capital after police officer numbers dropped by 1,461, a decrease of 4.3 per cent.
The number of full-time police in England and Wales fell to 145,550 across 43 forces at the end of September 2025, driven almost entirely by the Metropolitan Police’s sharp drop to 32,332. City of London Police had a further 999, up 1.1 per cent.
Figures were published days after the Home Secretary revealed plans billed as the biggest changes in the service’s history.
Under sweeping reforms published in the Government’s white paper on Monday, ministers will seek to “significantly” reduce the number of UK police forces by the end of the next parliament, with around 12 to 15 larger ones divided into local areas corresponding with cities, towns and boroughs.
A rollout of live facial recognition camera vans will see 50 made available across England and Wales after a successful pilot in London.
Susan Hall, leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly, claimed: “Sadiq Khan is gutting policing in our capital.
“He has completely betrayed his pledge of more officers and has delivered the opposite, fewer police on our streets and communities left exposed.
“Khan has stripped away visible policing, broken his word to Londoners and overseen a steady erosion of public safety.
“With local elections in May, voters should know only the Conservatives will back our police and stand up for the communities Khan has abandoned.”
Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp MP added: “Labour have taken a wrecking ball to policing, forcing top-down reforms and slashing frontline services.
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“In London alone we will now see over 1,450 fewer officers are on the streets.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “These claims are completely false. The Mayor has provided record funding for the Met against the backdrop of 14 years of austerity by the previous government. Sadiq has directly funded officers and protected neighbourhood policing, doubling the budget for the police from City Hall compared to the previous Mayor. Alongside this, the Mayor has delivered vital improvements to the way London is policed to restore public trust and raise standards.
“The Met continues to have the highest number of police officers per population, at 356 per 100,000 people. The Mayor has also recently set out plans to invest a further record-breaking £1.22bn from City Hall on policing so that we can continue the progress we're making in reducing homicides, violence and other crimes as we build a safer London for everyone.”
A source close to Sir Sadiq said: “The hypocrisy from the Tories is astounding. The Conservative Government presided over 14 years of cuts and failure. The Tories cut £1bn from the Met police in real terms since 2010, as well as cutting £1bn from youth services nationally, which had a devastating impact on our communities. Sadiq had to step in to plug the gap left by the disastrous Tory Government and he has provided record funding for the Met to keep Londoners safe.”
Ministers have already committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 recruits expected to be in post by spring this year.
Official data shows 2,383 new police and community support officers were in neighbourhood posts by the end of September last year.
A Home Office spokesman said: “These figures show almost 2,400 more neighbourhood officers across the country in the past six months – getting police out on the streets, where the public want them.
“The last government left 12,000 warranted officers stuck behind desks in support roles.
“This Government is restoring neighbourhood policing by putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police on the streets this parliament, and has increased police funding by nearly £2 billion.”
