• THE home secretary’s refusal so far to assist with the substantial extra costs the London Fire Brigade now faces as a consequence of the Grenfell Tower fire is symptomatic of the Conservative government’s failure in its primary duty to protect the public.

If their austerity policy, which has done so much damage, continues unchecked then not only will we see another £400million in cuts to the police with police station closures and fewer officers at a time of rising crime, we will also see the fire brigade facing an increasing budget gap.

As part of her initial assessment after the Grenfell Tower disaster, the Fire Commissioner Dany Cotton has identified a shortfall in what the brigade needs, including: three extended height aerial ladders; two drones; 1,200 extended duration breathing apparatus sets; and other specialised kit (which together will cost £6 million); as well as restoring the previous Conservative mayor Boris Johnson’s cut of 27 fire safety inspection officers.

The LFB is potentially facing a growing shortfall of £25.5million by 2021-2022, which is of a similar magnitude to the cuts forced through by Johnson, who closed 10 fire stations, and removed 14 fire engines and over 500 firefighter posts.

Further cuts to the brigade on such a scale cannot be contemplated without grave risks to Londoners and their homes.

The current Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has rightly told Commissioner Cotton to get on with buying this equipment as most of the requirements are “not off-the-shelf” and have a lead-in time. But the Conservative government must now see reason and start to put in the resources London’s police and fire services need to keep the capital safe.

ANDREW DISMORE AM
Labour Member for Barnet & Camden