Police experience lost due to Tory austerity will take years to replace, a senior Labour MP has warned - after a watchdog chief said it is impacting investigations.
By next year it is estimated that 38% of officers in England and Wales will have less than five years' experience - more than three times higher than a decade earlier.
Dame Diana Johnson, who chairs Parliament's Home Affairs committee, said that while the government has "finally" taken action to recruit new officers, she has concerns about how forces will handle a huge influx of staff.
