Met Police could sell off more buildings to raise cash after losing 124 of 160 stations since 2008

Twenty-four hour police station front counters open to the public could be axed across London if the Met Police is forced into making crippling cuts due to a forecast £450 million financial blackhole.

Britain's biggest police force is also considering selling off more buildings, in a bid to boost its coffers, despite losing 124 of its once 160 police stations since 2008.

Senior management have outlined a raft of measures they say would be needed if negotiations with the Home Office and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, due to end this month, fail to secure more cash.

A 'worst case scenario' document shared with officers across the force warned that the cuts could include an end to main police station front counters in each basic command unit (BCU) opening around the clock.

Currently, there is at least one police station, which has a 24-hour reception open to the public, in each of the 12 BCUs across the capital.

Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson gave a pledge in 2008 that there would always be at least one station per borough that would remain open to the public around the clock, a promise continued by Sadiq Khan when he took over in 2016.

But, according to serving officers, the worst case document suggested these opening times could be cut, without any firm detail on any new opening hours.

A spokesperson of the Mayor's Office assured last month that 'in setting out the worst-case scenario', the Met was not 'proposing any savings in areas that have direct contact with the public'.

After it was put to the Mayor's office that potentially reducing police station opening hours could impact the public, he said: 'Nothing is more important to the mayor than keeping Londoners safe and he is determined to do all he can to support Sir Mark Rowley deliver a New Met for London where communities are put first.

'While potential savings have been identified in the draft policing budget and the Met has identified some initial options on where costs could be saved in a worst-case scenario, no final decisions to reduce any services or officer numbers at the Met have been made.

'Since being elected and in the face of devastating cuts to policing by previous governments over the last decade, the mayor has maintained his commitment to a 24/7 police front counter in every borough and continues to have discussions with ministers and the Commissioner about the funding the Met needs to ensure we can continue building a safer London for everyone.'

The spokesman also said the Met was in the process of reviewing all its buildings through an Estates Strategy, with 'new information on the future of sites' to be 'announced in due course'.

He added: 'Where the difficult decision has been made to close a police station, Sadiq has reinvested all the funds made from the sale straight back into frontline policing in the capital. This work has also ensured that local neighbourhood teams continue to carry out regular patrols in their communities.'

Other potential cuts in the document could impact the forces ability to combat organised crime and the menace of county lines drug dealing, according to a Met Police source.

The source said the communication to staff said it could also mean an end to the programme of having police officers in schools.

This has been seen as a vital tool in steering at-risk youngsters away from street gangs and the threat of county lines drug gangs in the past few years.

Responsibility for engagement with schools would fall under already stretched safer neighbourhood policing teams, rather than having dedicated officers in identified schools, should the cuts go ahead, he said.

The document also outlines a potential 20 per cent cut to the flying squad that deals with armed robberies and other serious organised crimes, while also taking away the elite unit's own armed officers, according to the source.

The source said: 'If this happens it will lead to a real dent in our ability to tackle street gangs and organised crime. The schools officers have been an important part of identifying at risk pupils who could be exploited by gangs for stuff like county lines.

'Serious and organised crime is on the rise so cutting from these units would be disastrous and it would be a great time to be a criminal.'

Other at risk units are the force's dedicated parks team, which focuses on dealing with drugs and anti-social behaviour in parks, as it could be scrapped, he said.

The force's dog units and road traffic teams would face cuts of 20 percent under the worst case outline, while its celebrated mounted unit could see a 25 per cent cut, according to the source.

Others potentially in the pipeline are forensic services, looking at ten per cent cuts, and intelligence gathering at 15 per cent, but civilian staff would take over from any warranted officers lost.

The worst case scenario could see as many as 2,300 police officer roles lost and 400 civilian jobs in total, just two years after a major recruitment operation to boost nationwide police officer numbers by 20,000.

Since the 'worst case' memo was sent, rumours have surfaced with fake summaries of the document with even more exaggerated cuts being shared by unknown sources on social media.

Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley warned in November that previous ways of balancing the books had run out with 'some pretty eye-watering cuts to the services we provide' now required.

Asked about the cuts identified in the worst case scenario document, a Met spokesperson said: 'We are still awaiting our final funding settlement - so no decisions are final.

'We have been clear on the financial challenges we face and continue to have productive discussions with The Mayor and Home Office to ensure we have the resources to police London effectively.

'As expected we are carefully planning for any tough choices we may have to make to ensure we live within the means of our future budget, but no final decisions have been made.

'We are communicating to officers and staff to be transparent, clarify speculation and prepare them for the work needed to ensure delivery of any of the tough choices we may have to make ahead of our final budget being confirmed.'

A Home Office spokesperson said: The Home Secretary has announced an increase of over half a billion pounds in central government funding for policing, including over £260 million for the core grant and additional resources for neighbourhood policing, counter-terrorism and the NCA.

'Further allocation of police funding will be confirmed in the police settlement in mid-December'.