Police blow whistle on kettle ban

They face rising street crime and the threat of terrorism, but what is exercising the mind of London's police officers is the tricky question of electric kettles.

The force's canteen culture has often been criticised, but now it's the canteen cuppa that is under attack. In a bid to save £60million following an overspend last year, Scotland Yard has urged officers not to boil kettles so as to save on the electric bill. The economy drive also extends to limiting the use of hire cars, mobile phones and pagers and a plea to switch lights off when leaving a room.

Now the rank-and-file have hit back, with a series of sardonic letters to the force newspaper The Job. Sergeant Ron Jewett pointed out that being extra vigilant about turning off electrical appliances, including lights, seems incongruous when Scotland Yard displays a large electronic sign saying, Working for a Safer London, "blazing away 24 hours-a-day".

The insistence that patrol officers wear bright yellow jackets to create the impression of more police brought this ironic note from Pc Jamie Milligan: "I wrapped my children's' Christmas presents in luminous wrapping paper. They were amazed at the number of presents."

Pc Huw Williams questioned the claim that patrol cars with the slogan "anti-robbery cars" has cut crime. "I propose we introduce vehicles with ' antiroad traffic accident patrol' displayed to cut accidents."