MEP Paul Nuttall has blasted plans to axe the jobs of 300 officers from Greater Manchester Police.

GMP announced the decision after overspending its budget by £5 million and is making cuts to the force following this shortfall.

“This is simply unacceptable” said Mr Nuttall,UKIP Euro MP for Manchester.

“Police resources are already stretched thin, and by axing 300 jobs, police coverage will fall to unacceptably low levels.

“If Greater Manchester Police got their sums wrong, that is one thing, but surely there are better ways to save money than sacking highly trained police officers?”

Mr Nuttall also said he was concerned about the impact this would have on public protection.

“Manchester has one of the highest crime rates in Britain. We need the police to help fight muggers, burglars and dangerous drivers. It will be no consolation to the people of Manchester who fall victim to crime that there are no police because GMP was just balancing its books”.

“And ironically this comes at a time when there is a expensive TV campaign about the police pledge which vows that uniformed police officers will spend at least 80% of their time on the streets.
“I urge GMP to reverse it decision and do not reduce the strength of its police officers,” said Mr Nuttall.