The government’s plan to give police officers a pay rise will actually result in fewer of them being recruited in the future, the mayor of London has claimed.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday, Sadiq Khan said it was “absolutely right” to announce the raise – but that 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.
He 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.”
HuffPost UK understands this is true of all other police forces, too, meaning the pay rises must be funded from budgets allocated last year.
The 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 blamed this on privatisation, saying the government could not control pay rates set by agencies.
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated Sadiq Khan was claiming some officers could lose their jobs. He was in fact claiming it would mean fewer could be recruited in the future.