Theresa May reduces border security budget

[shaunbhoy]

They were flagged to police before the attack, maybe cuts to police meant that the resources were not available to assess the risk and prevent the attack in the first place.

Maybe, but then again maybe not.
I am not suggesting that cuts are a good thing, but the cuts were much more likely to have been made in the bloated back office battalions that most police forces seem to have.
It will be no bad thing to spend more on targeting terrorism, but people need to stop just using historical cost-cutting exercises as a stick with which to beat the PM because they have another agenda.

[PurpleGorilla]

Maybe, but then again maybe not.
I am not suggesting that cuts are a good thing, but the cuts were much more likely to have been made in the bloated back office battalions that most police forces seem to have.
It will be no bad thing to spend more on targeting terrorism, but people need to stop just using historical cost-cutting exercises as a stick with which to beat the PM because they have another agenda.

Well the inquiry will help answer that.

[original PM]

Well the inquiry will help answer that.

Unless it's run be people who want to create a stick to beat the PM with.....

[shaunbhoy]

Maybe we could reskill those Police that man speed traps to watch out for terrorists?

Doesn't seem to have been much of a scaling back of their numbers!!

[PurpleGorilla]

Unless it's run be people who want to create a stick to beat the PM with.....

The stick is ready and waiting, it was made to beat Tony Blair with, but is still pristine and immaculate.

[grabri]

From the 20/4/2016..........................I know you are a bit slow but do at least try and keep within a calendar year of the rest of us!

I think that cuts initiated 1 year ago are highly significant to the operational effectiveness of the border force now - why would you think otherwise?

[shaunbhoy]

I think that cuts initiated 1 year ago are highly significant to the operational effectiveness of the border force now - why would you think otherwise?

A £2M cut probably means that they no longer get free coffee/tea on shift.
It is a drop in the ocean as regards their total budget.

[grabri]

A £2M cut probably means that they no longer get free coffee/tea on shift.
It is a drop in the ocean as regards their total budget.

I agree that highly significant is probably over-egging it, but you were dismissing it as irrelevant...and once the tea & coffee goes there goes the morale....

But a 0.4% decrease in the year, when in actual fact they were calling out for an increase in the wake of the attacks in Brussels and Paris surely is indicative of how seriously May has listened to our police and security forces... and to stand up now and echo their 'enough is enough' slogan must really piss them off.

[darmstadt]

https://hansard.parliament.uk/common...28/Engagements

[grabri]

https://hansard.parliament.uk/common...28/Engagements

Thanks, very interesting exchange from ~10:55