The Metropolitan Police’s Flying Squad will have their firearms taken away as part of a cost-cutting measure, it has been reported.
Officers in the squad have fought against the decision and are said to be “devastated” by the move.
It comes as the Met faces a £260 million gap in its funding and cuts needed to close it.
However, Barry Phillips of the Flying Squad Association criticised the move to take guns away from officers.
He told the Sun: “Armed robbers will be laughing their socks off”.
Formed in 1918, the Flying Squad has a reputation for catching criminals in London including kidnappers and robbers.
Last year, officers in the squad tracked down a man who had stolen a Banksy print worth £270,000.
The man was found within hours after the robbery at the art gallery in Fitzrovia.
Mr Phillips said: “Crime trends change but there are other Met units carrying out investigations that could have been done under the Flying Squad’s name.
“This decision to take away guns is the end of the squad as we know it.”
The Met was contacted for comment.
