UK security funding row escalates after London attacks

Embattled UK Prime Minister Theresa May was still fending off criticism of cuts to policing numbers during her stint as Home Secretary as it emerged one of the London Bridge killers had been reported for his extremist views.

The Times also reported that ministers were planning millions of pounds worth of cuts this year to the counterterrorism budget, while London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the Conservatives planned to slash the number of constables by up to 40%.

Home Office documents cited in the newspaper report revealed reductions in funding to the Office for Security and Counterterrorism (OSCT).

The unit is responsible for Britain’s overall terrorism strategy, both domestic and international, liaising with MI5, MI6 and the police. It also funds the government’s Prevent programme, which attempts to identify people at risk of being drawn into terrorism.

According to the report, the OSCT budget is due to fall 3.7% to £824m. The Home Office claimed that most of the cuts would fall on areas of non-terrorism-related spending.

May, when Home Secretary, said the department was “at the heart of the UK’s response to the threat we face from terrorists and serious criminals”.

She has come under increasing pressure to explain cuts to police numbers, with Steve Hilton, a former close adviser to her predecessor David Cameron, and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn both calling for her to resign.

“The cuts in police numbers during her time at the Home Office are appalling and that has to be challenged,” Corbyn said.
Khan, the Labour mayor of London, said the Metropolitan Police stood to lose between 3,400 and 12,800 constables under Conservative plans to change the Met’s funding formula.

“Cuts on this scale would make it harder to foil future terrorist attacks on our city – and as the mayor of London I’m simply not willing to stand by and let that happen.”

“The Met police service has lost over the last seven years £600m. As brilliant as they are, that’s a big big cut. Over the next four years the current Conservative government has plans to cut a further £400m and on top of that they are changing the police funding formula, which means we could lose a further £700m. That’s £1.7bn.”

“We’ve worked out that if they carry through with their plans we could be losing between 3,000 and 12,000 additional officers. That’s not sustainable. There’s no doubt fewer police officers means we are in more danger.”

Hilton said May was responsible for security failures, adding that she should be “resigning not seeking re-election” and accused her of trying to shift blame by suggesting that the attack should lead to a review of Britain’s counterterrorism strategy.

Seven people were murdered by three attackers on Saturday night when they drove a van into pedestrians on London bridge and then ran into bars stabbing customers. All the attackers were shot dead by police. it emerged on Tuesday that one of the men, Khuram Shazad Butt, 27, was investigated by officers in 2015 but they found no evidence he was planning an attack.