The government’s plan to give
police officers a pay rise will actually result in some of them losing their jobs, the mayor of
London has claimed.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday,
Sadiq Khan said while it was “absolutely right” to announce the raise, the Conservatives hadn’t actually allocated any more money to implement it.
Khan said this would mean the Met Police would need to find £40m in its existing budget to cover the cost.While it’s absolutely right that our hardworking police officers should get a pay rise, the Government has not committed any additional money to pay for it, leaving the Met to find an additional £40m a year. 1/2— Mayor of London (gov.uk/coronavirus) (@MayorofLondon) July 21, 2020He added: ”This would mean yet another cut to the policing budget, which will lead to fewer police officers on the streets and less of the technology and forensic support they need to prevent and detect crime.
“The government must fully fund our police service.”This would mean yet another cut to the policing budget, which will lead to fewer police officers on the streets and less of the technology and forensic support they need to prevent and detect crime. The Government must fully fund our police service. 2/2— Mayor of London (gov.uk/coronavirus) (@MayorofLondon) July 21, 2020The chancellor announced earlier in the day that public sector workers on the front line of dealing with the
Coronavirus pandemic will be given a pay rise.
Doctors, teachers and police officers are among those who will see extra money in their pay packet after a testing few months since Covid-19 hit the UK.
But social care workers will not receive anything extra. Policing minister Kit Malthouse earlier blamed this on privatisation, saying the government could not control pay rates set by agencies.
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