THE COST of policing Donald Trump’s visit to the UK should not be footed by Thames Valley Police. Instead, they should receive a funding boost.
That’s the view of the Thames Valley’s Labour MPs ahead of the US president’s visit to Blenheim Palace this evening.
Trump is on a four-day visit to the country, and includes the black tie dinner which will be followed by a visit to Chequers tomorrow where Trump will meet with Theresa May, ahead of a meeting with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
He then flies to Turnberry in Scotland where he will play golf at his resort.
A controversial president, there are a number of protests planned including a Baby Trump balloon which will be flying close to the Houses of the Parliament.
The three local Labour MPs – Tan Dhesi, Labour MP for Slough; Anneliese Dodds, Labour MP for Oxford East; and Matt Rodda, Labour MP for Reading East – have all called for proper resourcing for Thames Valley Police in wake of the Trump visit.
They say that cuts of £100 million have been made to its budget under Conservative ministers and that the number of police officers has gone down by 21,000 since 2010.
And their view is backed by the The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW), saying that the “unquestionable pressure” that the Presidential visit is placing on “a service already creaking at its knees”.
Simon Kempton, Operational Policing Lead for PFEW said: “Thousands of officers will be deployed from their home forces as part of mutual aid agreements, which are an important element of policing in this country to allow our resources to be flexibly and where they are needed most.
“However the fact cannot be ignored that while the officers on mutual aid are deployed elsewhere thousands more of their colleagues left behind in their home force will be expected to pick up the slack leaving them even more stretched. There was a time when we could do it all but now choices have to be made – we cannot do it all and this type of event puts a service which is already creaking at its knees under unquestionable pressure.”
Mr Rodda said: “I’m concerned about the deep Government cuts being made to Thames Valley Police, which I believe are making it noticeably harder for the police to fight crime.
“Given the pressure on Thames Valley Police I think it is only fair that the Government pays for the cost of one-off operations such as policing President Trump’s visit to Blenheim Palace, particularly when there is a precedent for the Home Office paying for the policing of other similar national events, such as the cost of policing President Trump’s visit to London.”
Ms Dodds said: “Our police services have been starved of funding since 2010, and we can see the impact everywhere in our communities.”
And Mr Dhesi felt that money would be better spent putting on bobbies on the beat.
He added: “It is simply unfair to expect Thames Valley Police to foot the bill for Donald Trump’s visit – something which many of us don’t want in the first place.”
Responding, a spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: “Along with a number of other UK forces, Thames Valley Police is involved in policing the forthcoming visit of US President Donald Trump.
“Our aim is to inform local communities of the Thames Valley of any possible impact they may experience associated with the visit without compromising security arrangements.
“We are unable to comment further on the visit or the specific security arrangements that have been put in place.”
