11 November 2005
As Prime Minister Tony Blair lost a hotly debated Commons vote on the controversial plan to detain terrorist suspects for 90 days, the row escalated over who will pay for the anti-terror measures imposing an immense strain on police budgets.
Senior finance managers in the Metropolitan Police are struggling to close a £16m funding gap and have appealed to the Home Office for more funds quickly.
The Home Office has so far released £10m to help absorb some of the costs of Operation Theseus, the Met's response to the July 7 bombings in London. But extra daily costs of £155,000 are mounting up and the total cost is heading for £50m.
Met director of resources Keith Luck told Public Finance: 'The £10m we've received from the Home Office as a down payment isn't very useful. There's another £15m they ought to be paying. We really would have expected another payment by now.'
In the Commons on November 9, the government's anti-terror proposal was voted down by 322 votes to 291. An amendment to make the limit 28 days, proposed by Labour dissident David Winnick, was passed by 323 votes to 290.
With the November 14 deadline approaching for the draft police budget to be submitted to London Mayor Ken Livingstone, the force is faced with is its toughest financial challenge since it was freed from Home Office control five years ago.
The force is still waiting to hear if the Home Office will accept the £150m bid to boost its long-term anti-terrorism capacity and funds have yet to be earmarked for the £32m flagship Safer Neighbourhoods scheme.
'We've asked the mayor for that. It is for him to weigh up,' Luck said.
The Home Office said negotiations were continuing but nothing could immediately be confirmed.
PFnov2005
