Sadiq Khan was on Monday accused of playing “political games” with the Met after stepping in to save an under-threat police station in Boris Johnson’s old constituency — just weeks before a crunch by-election.
The closure of Uxbridge police station had become a major issue for voters in Uxbridge and South Ruislip as Labour battle to take control of the former prime minister’s seat. Campaigners had long opposed it shutting and Mr Johnson used a rare Commons appearance last year to raise the issue.
In a letter to Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, the Mayor said the station should now remain open.
He said he had listened to the concerns of residents and that, following the damning review of the Met by Baroness Casey, there was a “strong” case for the force to retain more of its buildings to let officers build better relationships with communities.
“Huge government cuts over the last decade have forced the Met to make extremely difficult decisions about where they allocate resources,” Mr Khan said.
“I’m proud that thanks to our extra investment from City Hall we’re once again restoring neighbourhood policing to our local communities. I’ve also been listening to local residents and campaigners in places like Uxbridge who have been telling me how having a local police station makes them feel much safer.”
But the Tories claimed the Mayor’s intervention ahead of the July 20 vote showed Labour was “terrified”.
The by-election was called after Mr Johnson sensationally quit over partygate.
Susan Hall, running to become the Tory mayoral candidate in London, said: “The Met Police is not a toy Sadiq Khan can use for his political games. He has U-turned only because his disastrous Ulez expansion is threatening Labour’s prospects of winning the by-election.”
The Conservative candidate, Hillingdon councillor Steve Tuckwell, said: “Sadiq Khan claiming he’ll listen to Uxbridge and South Ruislip residents just days before people start voting in this by-election is proof that strong support for our campaign to stop Ulez expansion, and save the police station, is piling pressure on the Mayor to finally start listening to local people.
“It’s clear he is only responding now because Labour are terrified his decisions to expand the Ulez and shut our local police station is costing Labour votes.”
Labour is believed to be confident that candidate Danny Beales can win, but Ulez is also a key topic for voters, with Tories campaigning against its expansion to outer London.
