London Fire Brigade cuts to be reviewed, Sadiq Khan says

Ten fire stations have been shut and over 500 firefighter jobs removed as part of cuts

Cuts made to London Fire Brigade (LFB) services under Boris Johnson will be reviewed, new mayor Sadiq Khan says.

The report, to be carried out by Anthony Mayer, will check whether the brigade is equipped to deal with major emergencies, the London mayor said.

Ten fire stations have been shut and over 500 firefighter jobs removed as part of cuts to the service since 2009.

"I want to be reassured that our fire brigade has the resources they need to respond," Mr Khan said.

Conservative Greater London Assembly (GLA) group leader Gareth Bacon said the review was "perfectly understandable".

"Knowing the fire brigade as I do, I'm confident the review will not reveal anything amiss and will show that London's fire brigade is in robust health," the former fire authority chairman said.

London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, who recommended the cuts backed by Mr Johnson, said he "welcomed the review into our resources".

LFB crews tackled a major fire by the trackside in Vauxhall railway station in May

Funding of LFB has been reduced by more than £150m since 2009, with a further £22m due to be cut over the next three years, according to City Hall.

Figures released by the service in May showed the number of deaths caused by fires in the capital had reduced by 20% in five years.

However, City Hall said the length of time fire crews took to attend an emergency had risen in more than half of London boroughs.

Boris Johnson was mayor of London between 2008 and 2016 before Labour candidate Sadiq Khan was elected.

The report will be published by Mr Mayer, a former CEO of Greater London Authority, in the autumn.