News from The Labour Party

Alan Johnson: Tory Police elections “dangerous politicisation”

Alan Johnson MP, Labour’s Home Secretary, has today called Tory proposals to introduce elected police chiefs “a dangerous politicisation of the police”. David Cameron has pledged that a Tory government would introduce locally elected ‘commissioners’ to run police forces. This has been condemned by one senior police officer as a “resigning issue”.

Alan Johnson said: “The operational independence of Chief Officers is a crucial constitutional principle that no government should interfere with.

“We have never considered introducing elected commissioners because we are clear that Chief Officers, and Chief Officers alone are responsible for running their force – there can only be confusion and dysfunction under the Tories’ plans to introduce a second quasi-operational commissioner.

“David Cameron’s proposals represent a dangerous politicisation of the police force and I have yet to meet a senior officer who supports it.”

The Tory proposals follow controversial comments from Boris Johnson’s Deputy, Kit Malthouse who claimed that the Tories now “have our hands on the tiller” of the Metropolitan Police. These comments infuriated the Metropolitan Police who claimed that policing was “far too important to be used as a political football.”

Alan Johnson said: “In London the Conservatives are already claiming they have operational control of the Police. David Cameron’s proposals nationally are even more ominous. Labour has refused to politicise the police. Only broad based police authorities, with councillors and independent members, can avoid the potential dangers of politicisation and extremism that a single elected person could create.”

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