Nick today condemned Boris Johnson’s cavalier attitude to the Metropolitan Police and to the safety of the people of London.

Boris Johnson recently stood down as chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority claiming that he was “too busy”. Boris handed the position to one of his Deputy Mayors, Kit Malthouse, who this week has also claimed he is “too busy” to attend meetings of the Metropolitan Police Authority.

Boris Johnson is also proposing to cut the numbers of Police Officers in London by 455 over the next couple of years; a move that is fully backed by Conservatives in London and opposed by Labour members of the GLA.

Nick says: “Boris Johnson’s cavalier attitude to making London a safer city has, sadly, been much in evidence in recent weeks.

Boris claims that he’s too busy to keep an election pledge to chair the MPA and yet he finds the time to write a newspaper column. Now the man that he appointed to replace him in this role also claims that he’s too busy to attend to police matters. This demonstrates a shockingly negligent attitude to the mayor’s responsibilities. Londoners deserve better.

Cutting London’s police numbers byf 455 officers is turning the clock back on London’s streets. Labour invested heavily in London’s police: introducing neighbourhood policing and increasing the number of police out on the beat; crime, in particular violent crime, has fallen drastically. These achievements are being put at risk by Boris’ negligence.

If Boris is sincere about making London safer then he needs to take his job as mayor more seriously. Boris ought to be supporting Labour’s commitment to the people of London by investing in a strong and effective police service”.