Constituents walking around Harrow West today will recognise that the sight of a “bobby on the beat” is becoming a rarity.

Since Theresa May took over as Home Secretary in 2010, we’ve lost over 173 police officers in Harrow. While the Metropolitan Police have lost £600 million of funding since 2010, they face a further funding loss of £400 million, by 2021. It comes as no surprise then, that in Harrow, we are seeing a substantial increase in knife crime. Knife crime with injury was up by almost 60% in 2017, in Harrow alone.

I have been raising the problem of the tri-borough merger of Harrow, Brent and Barnet Met Police forces for three years. At a time when more police need to be deployed locally, it is time for the two Conservative MPs in Harrow to call upon the Government for more resources for Harrow Police. There is an urgent need for more policing resources in Harrow, highlighted by the recent reports of knife crime around Harrow.

I have raised the issues of underfunding of the Metropolitan Police several times in Parliament and will continue to do so.