SNP attacked on police recruits

Published on 03/03/2009 21:11

THE SNP was yesterday accused of breaking its election promise of putting 1,000 extra police in place by 2011.

The row erupted as figures revealed that since the Nationalists came to power in 2007, 410 more officers have been put on Scotland's streets.

However, when asked yesterday if there would be 17,261-plus police officers in Scotland by 2011 – 1,000 more than the figure in 2007 – the justice secretary, Kenny MacAskill, said: "No."

He claimed that the number of officers due to reach pensionable age in the next two years made that impossible. But he insisted that the Scottish Government had fulfilled its promise by providing 1,000 extra recruits on top of the ones which had already been budgeted for.

This explanation was met with scorn by opposition parties, in particular the Conservatives who believed they had a budget deal with the SNP to provide 1,000 extra officers.

In a letter to Mr MacAskill, Bill Aitken, the Tory justice spokesman and Holyrood justice committee convener, said that any number below 17,261 in 2011 would be "a breach of promise".

Labour has demanded an emergency statement in parliament. Its justice spokesman, Richard Baker, claimed that the admission on police numbers was the latest in a long line of dropped pledges by the SNP.

He cited local income tax, the cut in P1 to P3 class sizes to 18, paying off student debt and grants for first-time buyers.