SCRAP C-CHARGE EXPANSION TO FUND £55MILLION OF EXTRA POLICING ON THE TUBE

10.12.58am BST (GMT +0100) Wed 24th Aug 2005

Commenting on the London Underground British Transport Police Annual Report which shows that violent crime, drug related crimes and public order offences rising sharply on the Tube, the Liberal Democrats at the London Assembly today renewed their calls for the £55million earmarked for the Westward expansion of the Congestion Charge to be diverted to beefing up security on public transport in the capital.

Liberal Democrat London Assembly Transport Spokesperson, Geoff

Pope, said:-

"These figures are deeply worrying. The increase in violent crime on the Tube and the terrible events of the last few weeks has altered the needs of London. There must be extra investment put into tightening up policing on London's public transport system to maintain the confidence of the travelling public.

"This will not come cheaply, but by scrapping the westward extension of the Congestion Charge, London would be able to afford to invest the extra resources into security without hitting the pockets of the capital's hard pressed taxpayers.

"Sensible and affordable steps must be learnt and taken by Ministers, the Mayor and the police to ensure that London can remain a safe place to live, work and visit."

ENDS

Notes to editor

1. Increase spending on security and public safety measures on public transport in the capital by £55million. This would be met by scrapping the proposed costs of setting up of the westward extension of the Congestion Charge as set out in the 2005/06 London Mayoral budget.

2. According to the new report by the British Transport Police , violent crime on London Underground rose 14% in the last year, a jump of nearly 50% in public order offences and drug related crimes increasing by 103.6%.

Overall there was just a 0.4% rise in crime, with a 29% drop in reported robberies and 1.4% fall in sex crimes.