More Cuts To Come

Thousands of police officers around the country face losing their jobs by the end of the decade as part of George Osborne's plans to shrink the size of the state, if Labour's analysis of figures compiled by the House of Commons library is correct. There is a warnings of a return to the emergency-based policing of the 1980s and  the analysis suggests that the Metropolitan police, Britain's largest force, may have to cut between 1,300 and 5,200 police officers - out of a total strength of 31,000 - if the full planned cuts are introduced. 'The Commons library made the assessment after it was commissioned by Gareth Thomas, shadow London minister, to assess the impact of a recent warning by the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, that he has to cut his budget by £1.4bn over the current decade.' (Guardian, 22 December) RD