Met call centre staff begin New Year's Eve strike

Metropolitan Police call centre staff have begun a 25-hour New Year's Eve strike in a dispute over pay.

Trade union Unite said about 175 members were taking industrial action from 06:00 GMT on one of the busiest days of the year for emergency services in London.

Those involved work for the Met as call handlers recording crime reports, as well as technicians and office staff who help service and dispatch police vehicles.

The force said it was prepared for the action and did not expect disruption to policing.

Unite said its members voted to take strike action as they have not had a pay increase from the Met for 2025-26, despite the fact the Met has paid a 4.2% pay rise to police officers and all other forces in the UK have given both police officers and staff the 4.2% increase.

It said the Met had put forward two provisional offers: a "below-RPI pay increase" of 3.8% or a 4.2% offer "conditional on workers accepting vastly inferior conditions".

Last year, policing New Year's Eve cost the Met almost £2.3m, according to the union.

"As a significant night in policing, strike action will be very disruptive including causing delays to emergency call-outs," Unite added.

A Met Police spokesperson said the "vast majority of our staff will be working alongside their police officer colleagues" and they "do not anticipate" service levels being disrupted beyond what is normal on New Year's Eve.

"New Year's Eve is one of the largest annual policing operations in the capital," the spokesperson said.

"We are experienced and well-prepared for all eventualities, ensuring we balance the policing of this major event with maintaining our wider service to the public."

Meanwhile, the Met said it was fully prepared for New Year's Eve policing across the capital.

Officers will be on duty in all 32 boroughs, with a significant police presence in central London, including Westminster and the West End, which are expected to be particularly busy.

Cdr Nick John, who is charge of the New Year's Eve policing operation, said: "This is always one of the busiest nights of the year for us and working alongside our partners we start the planning many months ahead of time."

London's New Year's Eve fireworks display is fully ticketed and sold out, with police warning that anyone attempting to access the area without a ticket or breach security fencing can expect to be arrested and prosecuted.

The Met also confirmed that Primrose Hill will be closed this year and is not a viewing option, urging people not to gather there and to make alternative plans.

Cdr John said officers would be deployed to provide a "reassuring presence", deter crime and respond decisively to incidents, while appealing to the public to "only call 999 in a genuine emergency" due to high demand on call handling teams.

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