Yard gun budget is slashed

Scotland Yard will have to cut armed patrols against gun crime because of a £680,000 reduction in a specialist unit's budget.

Superintendent Bert Moore, head of firearms unit CO19, said the cut - just weeks after the fatal shooting of three teenagers in south London - will force him to slash the overtime payments that make many patrols possible.

After the youths and two other men were murdered last month, Home Secretary John Reid visited south London and said he wanted more police on the streets.

He said: "We'll need public protection measures and if that means more police and punishment, then it has to be part of the solution."

Prime Minister Tony Blair said the shooting of the teenagers including Michael Dosunmu, 15, was "horrific" and "specific solutions" were needed.

Today, Supt Moore told the Police Federation magazine, Police, that CO19 funding was being cut by £680,000 in the budget for 2007-2008.

He said: "We are trying to work out how best to make these cuts, but they will come from the overtime budget and that will have an impact. We have to use overtime to do proactive patrols like the ones in south London following the shootings."

CO19 has 552 officers, some of whom man the Armed Response Vehicle patrols that respond to 80 repor ts of firearms incidents a day. Many are deployed on the Operation Neon patrols against armed criminals in south London. Williams, a federation representative who works for CO19, said the cuts seem "crazy" and added: "Overtime produces more cars out on the streets."

A Met spokeswoman said: "Overtime has always been and will remain, a contingency and should not affect core policing."

The Met agreed a £3billion budget for 2007/2008 two weeks ago with Mayor Ken Livingstone. It means savings of £95million. Commanders of units and boroughs across the Met are having to make cuts.