Shameless Theresa May was bragging about how the Tories had “protected” police budgets only last week – but tonight that boast was exposed as a lie.
Commons figures reveal the Prime Minister has secretly slashed £413million in funding for forces.
And experts warn the savage cuts are putting the public at risk as stretched frontline officers struggle to deal with rising crime.
Shadow Policing Minister Louise Haigh MP said: “Ministers have been caught red-handed. These reckless cuts are a threat to public safety.”
Ex-Met Police Detective Chief Inspector Peter Kirkham branded the Tories the “party of crime and disorder”. He added: “It’s no surprise to me that a cut to police funding has been confirmed.
“Response times are longer as fewer officers cover wider areas and so opportunities to catch offenders are lost. Warnings of the consequences were dismissed as scaremongering.
“But we were not crying wolf. We were accurately predicting the consequences of the cuts and everything we said has come true.”
The shocking figures came in independent research by the Commons – on the eve of Chancellor Philip Hammond’s budget. They show that in 2015/16 forces received £7,620,644,880 in real terms. But in 2017/18 it was £7,207,494,919 – a £413,149,961 cut.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Nottinghamshire, Paddy Tipping, said: “Police numbers are at the lowest level for over 30 years as crime is rising. This is a perfect storm.”
And child abuse campaigner Jacky Hughes added: “With many more victims speaking out, it’s outrageous to hear police numbers are being cut so much.”
National Victims’ Association founder David Hines said: “I’m disappointed any police funding is cut when they are so underfunded.”
The Government did not deny the figures were accurate. But the Home Office still insisted “it has protected overall police spending in real terms”.
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