Do police need more cash to fulfil Labour pledges?

Leaders of six major police forces, including Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, have warned Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, against a repeat of “the retrenchment we saw under austerity”.

- JOHN RENTOUL

They say that without more money, Labour’s missions of halving knife crime and halving violence against women and girls will not happen.

An article in The Times warning that “without investment there will be no restoration of the prevention-focused neighbourhood policing” was signed by Sir Mark, Gavin Stephens, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and the chief constables of Merseyside, the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire.

At the same time, Sir Mark has joined privately with the heads of MI5 and the National Crime Agency to warn Shabana Mahmood, the justice secretary, that her plans to release prisoners early could be a “net detriment to public safety”. They say they would need “necessary resources” to contain the risks to the public of the early release of dangerous criminals.

Are these just bids in spending negotiations?

The negotiations for the spending review on 11 June are still in progress, with the Home Office and Department of Justice two of the departments that have yet to agree their budgets for the next four years with the Treasury.