Labour in fresh attack over police cuts in wake of Parsons Green bomb
2 min read
Labour has renewed its attack on Government cuts to policing in the wake of the Parsons Green bomb attack.
Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott suggested Conservative policies had “jeopardised” the UK’s ability to respond to terrorism, adding: “You cannot make the British people safe on the cheap.”
Some 30 people were injured on Friday when an explosive device on a tube train burst into flames at west London station Parsons Green.
Police have arrested two men and are searching a property in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey in relation to the attack.
Labour suggested during the election campaign that police cuts had allowed terrorists such as those who perpetrated the London Bridge attack to slip through the net.
Ms Abbott renewed the argument today, telling BBC news: “You cannot make the British people safe on the cheap.
“And to the extent that cuts in policing and police officers has possibly jeopardised our ability to respond to terrorism, we would seek to make good those cuts.”
She added: “Although the Government has maintained funding for security services as such, ordinary policemen and women are the frontline in getting information about these issues and it’s worrying that we have lost 20,000 police officers since 2010.”
She said Labour was committed to recruiting 10,000 extra police officers and “funding our security services properly” if they win office.
During the general election campaign Theresa May insisted the police and security services were “well resourced”.
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