Johnson calls for Uxbridge police station to be saved in rare Commons question

Boris Johnson has called on Sadiq Khan, his successor as Mayor of London, to save a police station in his Uxbridge constituency in a rare appearance in the House of Commons for the former prime minister. Mr Johnson, who has rarely been spotted in the lower chamber since leaving Downing Street in September, asked the Home Secretary to ensure Uxbridge police station remains in service. Mr Johnson has been the Conservative MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip since 2015. Responding to his question, Home Secretary Suella Braverman criticised the London mayor for “wholly failing at fighting crime”. Mr Johnson told the Commons: "Given that entry pay rates have already, on the streets of London alone, attracted another 4,734 more police officers to join the Metropolitan Police, and given how vitally important it is to continue to provide the right place for those new recruits to be properly trained, will she agree with me that Uxbridge remains the most sensible place – in Hillingdon – to have a police station? "And will she join me in passing that view to the present mayor of London?"

Ms Braverman said Mr Johnson “speaks a lot of sense as usual”, adding: “He has a huge amount of which to be proud of when it comes to increasing the number of police officers on the front line, fighting crime and standing up for victims – something that Labour has opposed at every opportunity.” She also suggested Mr Johnson should “give up some of his precious time to advise the current mayor of London, who is wholly failing on fighting crime”. “Having seen a 9% increase in crime in London, he really could take some advice from his predecessor,” she added.

Earlier this month Sadiq Khan said he was “leading from the front” and vowed to crack down on crime as he joined Metropolitan Police officers on patrol in Southwark.

He claimed violent crime in London has reduced since he was first elected mayor in 2016 but warned that the cost of living crisis could cause an upswing in offences.

Mr Khan said: "Record investment from City Hall in the Met and London’s Violence Reduction Unit has meant violence in the capital has reduced since 2016, with knife crime, gun crime, burglary and teenage homicides all falling – bucking the national trend."

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