The full list of 18 closures across London has now been confirmed as Met says it will save £7m from budget, reports Kumail Jaffer, Local Democracy Reporter

Edmonton Police Station and (inset) Sadiq Khan

Sir Sadiq Khan has been accused of failing to honour a manifesto promise to maintain a police front office counter in all 32 London boroughs.

In his manifesto prior to last year’s election, London mayor pledged to “ensure the Met is able to effectively respond to the public, including maintaining a 24-hour police front office counter in every borough”.

However, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed today (Wednesday 6th) that 18 out of 37 counters will be closed, including Edmonton and Tottenham, while Wood Green will reopen as a replacement to serve both Enfield and Haringey boroughs.

After the closures go ahead, just 20 front desks will be open across the capital for Londoners to report a crime in person.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist told the London Assembly today the move will save the Met £7million, as part of its bid to fill a £260million funding gap.

He justified the closures by suggesting crime reporting at station counters has significantly reduced to just 5% “as people have shifted to the use of phones and online means”.

Twist added: “At some front counters, we see less than two-and-a-half crimes a day reported. At the busiest, in Charing Cross, we see 15 crimes.

“The average is four crimes a day reported across three shifts, which are often staffed by two people.

“We’ve made deliberate choices to protect neighbourhood policing and services that matter most to Londoners.

“Whilst we are shrinking overall, we are changing the shape of our organisation to better serve the public and meet increasing demands for policing.

“This is about making the Met more accessible and visible in neighbourhoods at a time when the organisation is shrinking – and to do so, we need to cut the pie a bit differently.

“We are making the decision to reduce an underused resource to allow us to continue to strengthen neighbourhood policing teams.”

Khan was not present for the extraordinary plenary session at City Hall regarding the closures today, instead sending Kaya Comer-Schwartz, the deputy mayor for policing and crime, to face questions alongside Twist.

Conservative assembly member Thomas Turrell asked if it was “irresponsible” for the mayor to have made the commitment in last year’s manifesto. Comer-Schwartz said: “The mayor’s manifesto is clear about the importance of restoring visible neighbourhood policing and building safer, more confident communities in London.

“The mayor has shown a dedication to keeping Londoners safe.”

The 14 full-time counter closures include Harrow, Kensington and Chingford, while four which were already operating on reduced hours will also be shut.

Twist said the move will also save 3,752 hours of police officer time per month. Non-specialist staff currently have to backfill front counter shifts that can’t be resourced by public access officers.

The Met took into account front counter demand, accessibility and geographic spread, and operational alignment to custody suites and investigative teams when deciding which ones to close.

Twist confirmed that Khan’s front counter pledge, which was also included in the ‘New Met for London’ plan, was broken due to a lack of funding.

“We could not have foreseen that two years ago, when New Met for London was written, the scale of the gap was going to be as big as it was at the end of 2024,” he said.

“Savings have to be made somewhere – this is the least worst option. Looking at the overall financial picture, which is really challenging – if we can save £7m by reducing a service for which demand has reduced significantly over the last decade, that seems like the right thing to do.”

He said Londoners will still have the option of using stations which have their front counters closed to make a phone call.

Conservative leader Susan Hall accused Khan of being a “coward” by sending his deputy mayor to face the London Assembly, adding: “He made a promise that he would have a 24/7 police station in every BCU [borough command unit], he has always said he will keep them open.”

Later, Comer-Schwartz, who admitted she found out about the scale of the cuts “in June or July”, could not give a guarantee every borough will retain at least one police station.

Liberal Democrat Assembly Member Hina Bokhari responded: “It begs the question really, what is the point of having a deputy mayor for policing and crime if you are not going to intervene on behalf of Londoners when these massive changes are being proposed.”

Reform UK assembly member Alex Wilson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Having a visible and accessible counter in each borough was a manifesto pledge – it’s a sorry situation to do this for the amount of money this will save.

“London is lawless – yet Sadiq Khan’s response is to close half of London’s Met Police front desks.

“He says he hasn’t got the money to keep them open. That’s not true. He spends £1.4billion a year on net zero and just £1.11bn a year on crime.

“Saving these front desks would cost just 0.36% of his climate budget each year.”

Conservative London Assembly Member Keith Prince also told the LDRS: “It’s apparent they have not thought this move through – it’s not just crime that’s reported at front counters, some see them as places of safety.

“The mayor not being here underlines the contempt with which he holds the Assembly.”

A Met spokesperson said: “Just 5% of crimes were reported using front counters last year, with only 1% of these being made during the night. At the busiest front counter in London on average 15 crimes are reported a day – less than one an hour – and in the least busy, only 2.5 crimes are reported a day.

“Londoners tell us they want to see more officers on our streets. The decision to reduce and close some front counters will save £7m and 3,752 hours of police officer time per month allowing us to focus resources relentlessly on tackling crime and putting more officers into neighbourhoods across London.”

Police front desks proposed to be shut:

Kentish Town (Camden borough)
Tottenham (Haringey)
Edmonton (Enfield)
Harrow (Harrow)
Bethnal Green (Tower Hamlets)
Dagenham (Barking and Dagenham)
Chingford (Waltham Forest)
Kensington (Kensington & Chelsea)
Hammersmith (Hammersmith & Fulham)
Twickenham (Richmond)
Lavender Hill (Wandsworth)
Wimbledon (Merton)
Hayes (Hillingdon)
Plumstead (Greenwich)
Barking Learning Centre (Barking and Dagenham)*
Church Street (Westminster)*
Royalty Studios (Kensington and Chelsea)*
Mitcham (Merton)*

*not currently open 24/7

Police front desks staying open:

Romford (Havering)
Charing Cross (Westminster)
Acton (Ealing)
Brixton (Lambeth)
Lewisham (Lewisham)
Bromley (Bromley)
Sutton (Sutton)
Islington (Islington)
Wembley (Brent)
Colindale (Barnet)
Stoke Newington (Hackney)
Ilford (Redbridge)
Forest Gate (Newham, temporarily replaced by Stratford)
Kingston (Kingston)
Hounslow (Hounslow)
Walworth (Southwark)
Bexleyheath (Bexley)
Croydon (Bromley)
Pinner (Harrow)*
Wood Green (Haringey, reopening to replace Tottenham)

*Only a volunteer-run, limited site

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