Extracts from
PMQs
Ian C. Lucas (Wrexham) (Lab): May I thank the
Prime Minister for coming to my constituency during the general
election campaign and for making her widely welcomed U-turn on
the dementia tax? May I invite her back to Wrexham to make
another announcement, reversing her appalling cuts to police
budgets, which my constituents want to see the back of?
The Prime Minister: We are protecting police
budgets—[Interruption.] Yes. But we are of course making reforms
to policing. That is why I introduced the National Crime Agency
to deal with serious and organised crime, which actually relates
to crime on the streets. That is why we have put money into a new
national cybercrime unit to ensure that the police can deal with
the new sorts of crimes they are having to deal with. Yes, we are
reforming policing, but the key thing is not the number of police
on the streets; the key thing is what happens to crime, and crime
has fallen to a record low.
(Dudley North) (Lab):
Will the Prime Minister confirm that, last week, Britain’s four
most senior police officers—the commissioner of the Met and the
heads of counter-terrorism, the National Crime Agency and the
National Police Chiefs Council—all wrote to the Government saying
that the counter-terrorism policing and protective security grant
is being cut by 7.2%? Does that not show, contrary to what she
just told my hon. Friend the Member for Wrexham (Ian C. Lucas),
that her promise to protect police budgets is not being
kept?
The Prime Minister: No. As I said earlier, we
have protected counter-terrorism policing. We have also put money
into an uplift in armed policing. The commissioner of the
Metropolitan police has made the point that the Metropolitan
police are well resourced and has a wide diversity tools that it
can use in countering terrorism. That is the point. It is not
just about the funding; it is about ensuring they have the powers
they need to deal with the terrorists—that is what we are
determined to ensure.
Extract from Queen's
Speech debate (Commons)
(Birmingham, Erdington)
(Lab): Will the Home Secretary confirm that the
Commissioner of the Metropolitan police, the head of
counter-terrorism, the head of the National Crime Agency and the
chair of the National Police Chiefs Council have written to her
saying that the counter-terrorism, policing and protective
security grant will fall by 7.2% in cash terms over the next two
years?
The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Amber
Rudd): I have received that letter and I will be
speaking to all the individual leaders of those groups. The issue
to which they are drawing attention is that they are under
tremendous strain because of the events of the past three months.
Additional resources are being deployed in order to work on the
ongoing investigations into some of the terror events, including
the investigation in Manchester. We recognise that and will work
with them to see how we can support them...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
