MP attacks police budget rise bid

John Maples MP has backed the government's stance

An MP has told the government to "stick to its guns" over Warwickshire Police Authority's bid to increase its budget.

The authority wants a 12.9% rise to deal with high-profile and extensive cases but the government has said it will only authorise a 5% increase.

These include the shooting on the M40 of biker Gerry Tobin and the death of four firefighters in a warehouse blaze.

But Stratford-upon-Avon Tory MP John Maples said the authority had to "live within their means".

The government has told the authority to look again at its figures but Mr Maples said he understood it was planning to appeal against the decision.

In a letter to Communities Secretary Hazel Blears, he said the authority had a "long record of inflation-busting precept increases".

He added: "If you back down and don't either cap (the authority) or restrict them for the future then I am afraid that the lesson that they will take from this is that they don't have to pay any attention either to people's ability to pay or to government policy."

Warwickshire Police Authority was unavailable for comment.

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