London police numbers fall, official figures show

7.16.35am GMT Fri 2nd Feb 2007

The number of police officers in the Metropolitan Police as well as in the City of London force fell at the last count, according to official Home Office figures released on 30 January.

There were 30,911 officers in the Metropolitan Police when the latest snapshot was taken on 30 September 2006 - down 214 on the previous year. In the small force dedicated to the Square Mile, there were 862 officers last September - down 29.

Reacting to the fall in the number of police officers in London, local Liberal Democrat Mark Blackburn said:

"Put simply, we need more police officers patrolling the streets of London, not fewer.

"Yes, that costs money, but the Government is currently spending £97,000 every single day on its wasteful and wrong-headed plans for ID cards - and that's before the cards have even been produced! That money would be much better spent on paying for more police officers than it will ever be on useless plastic cards."

The Liberal Democrats have recently committed themselves to a policy of putting more police on patrol. The promise was unveiled as part of their five-point plan to tackle crime:

• More police on patrol - don't waste billions on ID cards

• Take back our town centres - let communities close pubs and clubs that cause trouble

• Make sentences mean what they say - life should mean life

• Compulsory work and training in prison - to cut re-offending

• More compensation for victims - paid for by prison work

Full details about the Liberal Democrat plans can be found at www.wecancutcrime.com