Cost-of-living: Met Police chief laments officers having to use food banks

Sir Mark Rowley re-iterated calls for a pay rise for police officers that is in line with inflation

The Met Police Commissioner has lamented a survey that suggests hundreds of officers are using food banks during the cost-of-living crisis.

Sir Mark Rowley was reacting to a survey by Metfriendly, a financial service for Met staff, which suggested 86% of officers and staff had financial concerns.

Hundreds of those surveyed say they had missed meals due to lack of money.

"I am certain that pay is a key factor," Sir Mark said.

Earlier this week, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would make a "responsible" decision on pay increases for public sector workers in order to control inflation.

But Sir Mark re-iterated calls for a pay rise for police officers that is in line with inflation.

The Met is the UK's largest police service and currently employs more than 43,000 officers and staff.

Metfriendly surveyed more than 3,000 serving police officers and staff and said it had found most were in a worse position than six months ago.

Results suggested 27% of respondents admitted to missing meals, while 8% admitted to using a food bank to support themselves.

Reacting to the findings, Sir Mark said: "It cannot be right that police officers, the people who society turn to when they are most in need, are themselves turning to food banks, getting into unsustainable debt and choosing not to eat so they can pay their bills."

Metfriendly said of those surveyed, 60% were doing more overtime, 26% had a second job and 40% were selling their possessions.

Just over a third (37%) were considering leaving the police force altogether, Metfriendly said.

"Frontline officers have seen their salaries fall by around 17% in real terms over a decade," Sir Mark explained.

"This report lays bare the very real impact that is having in the context of the cost of living crisis and the urgent need to address it."

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