‘Cuts to MoD Police will harm national security’

THE Defence Police Federation has hit out at plans to reduce the force numbers by around 300 officers.

The Ministry of Defence Police is currently approximately 2,600 police officers strong, but £12.5 million cuts proposed by the Government will mean it could shrink to less than 2,300, according to the Federation’s chair.

This will cost one in 10 armed officers and recruitment will be frozen, Eamon Keating told the Federation’s annual conference in Stansted.

Mr Keating (pictured) said: “The MDP senior leadership propose to ‘reset’ our workforce numbers to meet savings targets. We should have a chill down our spines at the very thought of such a measure and the implications it has for security, and for individual officers.

“That means a real terms reduction of around one in 10 firearms posts and the reduction or removal of police protection for MoD sites and national security. That in turn means a limitation, if not reduction, in the number of officers available for deployment in a national emergency. And more importantly, on a day-to-day basis, a real reduction to security for the MoD.”

Mr Keating told the meeting that he had seen numbers half during his career, and that any further reduction would come at cost to national security.

He told Defence Minister Lord Howe and deputy chief constable Andy Adams: “In the current climate, where the threat levels are increasing and we have seen three terrorist attacks over the past 12 weeks, where response is limited and its sustainability – nationally – is under question, this type of decision is outrageous and cannot go unchecked.

“At a time when the national response is to require a greater firearms response and presence, why would the Ministry of Defence look to reduce its capability by cutting over 240 Authorised Firearms Officers?”