Oral Answers to Questions

Peter Fortune Excerpts

Monday 23rd March 2026 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for Policing and Crime (Sarah Jones)]

Without wanting to step in on the operational independence of my hon. Friend’s local police force, I am very happy to have a meeting with him to talk about this issue. I take a keen interest in custody suites, and with arrests up by 5% under this Labour Government in the last year, we need to ensure that we are running them properly.

[Peter Fortune (Bromley and Biggin Hill) (Con)]

T3. During the recent London elections, Sadiq Khan made a manifesto pledge not to close Bromley’s 24-hour police counter, so Bromley’s 24-hour police counter is obviously now closed. Does the Minister think that the closure of this vital service is good for my constituents or the safety of the community?

[Sarah Jones]

I think Boris Johnson closed a lot more front counters than Sadiq Khan has, but that is a different issue. We are putting more funding into frontline policing. We want police on our streets and in our neighbourhoods—not behind desks, as they were under the previous Government—and that is where the public want to see them.