Ed Balls clashed with policing minister Chris Philip on Good Morning Britain over the loss of police officers under the current government.
Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid began by questioning Mr Philip on the figures as she said: "24,000 police officers taken off the streets, it's no surprise that knife crime went on the rise. Where did the police officers go?"
The policing minister replied: "The reason police officer numbers fell in the years immediately after 2010 and there were spending constraints in other public services as well is because the outgoing Labour government left the country essentially bankrupt and George Osbourne had to take difficult decisions to put it back in order."
