Start at the top in controlling Met's budget

4.00.00pm GMT Tue 2nd Feb 2010

Dee Doocey, the Liberal Democrat London Assembly Policing Spokesperson and Member of the MPA, commenting on plans set out today by senior police officers to control costs, including overtime said:

"Senior police officers should start with controlling their own costs. The Met alone could save over £2million a year by simply ending chauffeur driven cars for senior officers and ending the use of First Class and Business Travel.

"While there is a case for looking at whether the Met's overtime bill can be reduced lets not pretend sergeants and police constables should be blamed for simply putting the extra hours in.

"The Met also needs to examine every aspect of its expenditure, including its £7 million a year expenditure on hired cars. If the Met can reduce this bill by 40% in just two months what other areas of expenditure are needing to be controlled?"