Just Stop Oil and Palestine protesters leave Met Police with £240 MILLION funding gap
Just Stop Oil and Palestine protesters leave Met Police with £240 MILLION funding gap
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Sadiq Khan has warned pro-Palestine and Just Stop Oil protests have left Scotland Yard with a funding gap of £240 million.
It comes as there is concern that frontline and neighbourhood policing in London is suffering under the constant round of public order pressures.
Now, Khan has written to Home Secretary James Cleverly, to ask for more financial support for the force.
In the letter to Cleverly, the Mayor of London said the additional costs resulted in reduced resources elsewhere, causing London’s communities to directly suffer.
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Khan said: "We’ve seen a third of officers abstracted from local boroughs and that’s why the Met Commissioner has calculated the shortage in monies from the Government is to the tune of £240 million.”
"That’s why I’ve written to the Home Secretary saying, as he allocates the policing formula, he needs to make sure London gets the right amount we’re due as a national and international capital city."
It comes as the Home Secretary prepares to announce the police funding settlement, which sets out the grants each force will receive.
Khan also pointed out that since October 7, more than 28,000 officer shifts had been devoted to managing protests in London.
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The Met has had to deal with Palestine protests and Just Stop Oil marches
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A Freedom of Information request found £19.9million has been spent by Scotland Yard on Just Stop Oil since 2022, with £3.5million spent since October this year.
Earlier this month, Commander Kyle Gordon, called on Just Stop Oil to engage with the force.
He said: "When it comes to Just Stop Oil, we know when they talk about slow marches it is in everything other than name an attempt to block the road and cause maximum disruption to people right across London.
"Our desire is that Just Stop Oil come forward and speak with us, so we can actually work with them. Twenty million pounds from the public purse is a lot of money. I would much, much prefer to be using that within communities."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "We are giving the police the resources they need to tackle crime, and through our police recruitment campaign we have more police officers in England and Wales than ever.
"The Metropolitan Police will receive up to £3.3 billion in 2023/24, an increase of up to £102.3 million on the previous year.
"This includes £185.3 million in recognition of the increased demands the force faces from policing the capital city.
"We have also provided an additional £75.3 million of in-year funding to support the force in managing the costs associated with the 2023/24 pay award."