Uxbridge: Sadiq Khan saves police station weeks before by-election

Almost 130 stations have been closed in ten years across London

A police station in Boris Johnson's old constituency has been saved from closure after London Mayor Sadiq Khan intervened weeks before a by-election.

Uxbridge had been earmarked for closure as part of London-wide plans to close stations to save the Met Police money.

In a letter to the Met commissioner, the Labour mayor said there was a "strong case" for retaining stations.

But Conservative Susan Hall accused Mr Khan of playing "political games" with the Met.

Local campaigners have long opposed the potential closure of the police station, and it was one of the last issues the former prime minister posted about on Twitter before resigning as the MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.

That by-election is set to be held on 20 July.

• Uxbridge by-election full candidate list

As head of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime (Mopac), Mr Khan sets the Met's budget and priorities.

The initial policy to cut police stations in London was brought in by Mr Johnson, when he was London mayor; Mr Khan decided to continue that policy.

But now, in a letter to Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, Mr Khan said there was a strong case to retain stations across London.

He said he came to this decision following a highly critical review of the police force by Baroness Louise Casey which said officers and staff had expressed concerns that austerity cuts, including the closure of police stations, had gone too far and had a detrimental impact.

The report added that between 2010 and 2022, 126 police stations were closed in London.

The London mayor has written to Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley about keeping the station open

Mr Khan said he had been listening to "local residents and campaigners in places like Uxbridge who have been telling me how having a local police station in their area makes them feel much safer".

He added: "As we continue to rebuild neighbourhood policing and restore confidence after the Casey Review, I've written to the Met Commissioner saying that the case for now retaining more police station sites across the capital is strong, and would be an important part of our work ensuring the force delivers everything that Londoners need and expect."

But Susan Hall, who serves as the deputy chair of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee but commenting in an individual capacity as a London Assembly member, said: "The Met Police is not a toy that Sadiq Khan can use for his political games.

"Residents in Uxbridge are seriously concerned about his appalling decision to close the station, and he has now u-turned only because his disastrous ULEZ expansion is threatening Labour's prospects of winning the by-election."

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London Assembly member for the Lib Dems on the Police and Crime Committee, Caroline Pidgeon, said although she thought it was the right decision, many other Londoners would be "wondering about the future of their local station".

"Both Sadiq Khan and Boris Johnson have long records of closing down police stations in their tenures as London mayor and we are still waiting for the publication of the long-anticipated estates strategy to be published.

"With this development happening in the middle of a by-election it needs to be asked why stations such as Wimbledon were not afforded the same advocacy by Labour's mayor."

The Green Party's Caroline Russell, chair of the London Assembly Police and Crime Committee, said she was unable to comment in her capacity as chair.

Analysis: BBC London's political editor, Tim Donovan

The timing looks suspect and opponents are accusing London's mayor of a "cynical" attempt to influence voters.

Campaigners who've begged for more than six years for their police station to be saved - apparently in vain - now learn they've been successful after all.

It's less than three weeks before a by-election Labour are desperate to win, and where the Tories have put the future of the station - along with ULEZ - centre-stage.

Both the Tory and Labour candidates are claiming it was their local campaigning wot won it.

So in his listening mode, how much has the mayor been hearing that his side needed a boost and a good story to tell?

Arguably it might backfire if others doubt his motives.

But just because to some this smells a bit doesn't mean it may not be the right outcome.

It was Boris Johnson as mayor who started the station closure programme; "bobbies not buildings" was the mantra. But it boomeranged back when the axe fell on the local station of Boris Johnson the MP.

Since then, the investment from government and the mayor has bounced back and brought Met Police numbers up to record levels. Mr Khan is also reviving the number of PCSOs (Police Community Support Officers).

They'll all need somewhere to go, say some. No, they're best off getting out from behind their desks, say others.

For sure, expectations will now be raised.

Tory MP Theresa Villiers has been quick to seize on this - saying surely now her local station in Barnet should be saved too.

Perhaps she needs to trigger a by-election.

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