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London mayor Boris Johnson has thrown a brick at David Cameron and home secretary Theresa May's plans for cutting police spending.

Johnson told the BBC Radio Today programme on Wednesday 10 August that the coalition policy of 20% police budget cuts was already "fragile". And now that the pressure on police resources has suddenly and dramatically increased with the riots, it is completely wrong.

It means the police cuts, which a watchdog has warned could lead to the loss of 16,200 officers - defended by May only 24 hours earlier on the same programme - are publicly being doubted at the highest level.

It is likely Cameron was planning to tell MPs that he is prepared to review the constraints on police spending. The matter was discussed at at COBR meeting. The PM has said they must have all the resources necessary to combat the wave of violence across England, which saw the numbers of police poured into London last night rise from 6,000 to 16,000.

For how long this extra commitment lasts is up for debate. The Home Secretary has already ordered forces to put officers' leave on hold and draft in help from community support officers or 'specials'.


There was cross-party agreement in condemning the first outbreaks of violence, but an on-air spat last night between education secretary Michael Gove and Labour veteran Harriet Harman on Newsnight showed little party unity over the cause of the rioting.

A beefed-up police presence in the capital helped quell trouble on its streets after three nights of trouble but ugly scenes of looting spread to Manchester, Nottingham and Birmingham.