Priti Patel tells Sadiq Khan to ‘spend money on police, not PR’
2 min read
Priti Patel has attacked Sadiq Khan’s attempts to combat crime in London, alluding to claims the Mayor of London has doubled his public relations budget.
In a letter to Mr Khan, the Home Secretary demanded assurances he was “putting as much resource as you possibly can into the Metropolitan Police Service”, the Evening Standard reported.
Ms Patel also alluded to allegations the Mayor’s PR budget had climbed from £1.3m to £2.5m.
She has refused to confirm how many extra police London will get under new Downing Street plans, while Mr Khan has demanded at least an additional 5,000 officers.
Ms Patel wrote: “Londoners must be confident their Police and Crime Commissioner is doing everything in his power to put an end to this senseless violence.
“I want to see what robust plans you have in place to reduce violent crime in the capital. I understand there have been 90 homicides so far this year. That is 90 too many.”
A spokesman for the Mayor told the Standard: “After years of Government cuts to the police and preventative services, it is deeply disappointing that the Home Secretary is playing political games rather than setting out how Ministers will urgently address violent crime in London.
"Furthermore, there remain serious concerns about the Home Secretary’s plans to end the free movement of labour on day one of a no-deal Brexit.
“The Mayor strongly believes this is wrong, and that it is callous and cruel to use people as bargaining chips."
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