Budget cuts may force UK police move its HQ
Source: Agencies |
October 31, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IT'S not in Scotland. And it's missing a front yard. But anyone who has read a Sherlock Holmes novel can tell you that Scotland Yard equals London police.
Perhaps no longer.
London's police force may move from its headquarters, known as New Scotland Yard, as it faces making budget cuts of more than 500 million pounds (US$800 million).
Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey told the mayor's office yesterday that it plans to save 6.5 million pounds per year by moving to a smaller building.
The police headquarters, and its iconic revolving "New Scotland Yard" sign, have been on London's Victoria Street since 1967. Planned staffing cuts will make the massive London building an expensive luxury.
Though London's mayor has the final decision, agreement on the issue between the city's policing board and the Metropolitan Police makes the move highly likely.
But the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, John Tully, said the sale was like losing the Crown Jewels.
"It's very regrettable that it's come to this," he said, quickly suggesting that Mayor Boris Johnson, whose office is in a glass and steel building on the River Thames, should reconsider cost-cutting demands.
"The mayor needs to look at his own office," Tully said. "He sits in a brand new building on the South Bank. Why doesn't he sell that to save money?"
Tully said the move was an insult to staff members who were told "they've got to do more and be better and smarter."
New Scotland Yard costs millions of pounds a year to run and about 50 million (pounds) are needed over the next few years to make it fit for longer operational use, the police said.
Perhaps no longer.
London's police force may move from its headquarters, known as New Scotland Yard, as it faces making budget cuts of more than 500 million pounds (US$800 million).
Deputy Commissioner Craig Mackey told the mayor's office yesterday that it plans to save 6.5 million pounds per year by moving to a smaller building.
The police headquarters, and its iconic revolving "New Scotland Yard" sign, have been on London's Victoria Street since 1967. Planned staffing cuts will make the massive London building an expensive luxury.
Though London's mayor has the final decision, agreement on the issue between the city's policing board and the Metropolitan Police makes the move highly likely.
But the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, John Tully, said the sale was like losing the Crown Jewels.
"It's very regrettable that it's come to this," he said, quickly suggesting that Mayor Boris Johnson, whose office is in a glass and steel building on the River Thames, should reconsider cost-cutting demands.
"The mayor needs to look at his own office," Tully said. "He sits in a brand new building on the South Bank. Why doesn't he sell that to save money?"
Tully said the move was an insult to staff members who were told "they've got to do more and be better and smarter."
New Scotland Yard costs millions of pounds a year to run and about 50 million (pounds) are needed over the next few years to make it fit for longer operational use, the police said.
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