London Underground could lose it's dedicated police service if plans to merge the BTP's Underground operations into the Met are pushed through.
The British Transport Police Federation which represents over 2,000 police officers has written to the Transport Minister, John Spellar, deploring the plan.
The Federation believes that the travelling public will be put at risk through officers being deployed to other duties if they are part of the Metropolitan Police Service. The plan is one of a series of options being explored by Mr Spellar's Department and is contained in a Paper circulating among officials and senior BTP Management. In their letter, which is jointly signed by Alex Robertson, Federation Chairman, and Roger Randall, General Secretary, they say the merger would "effectively destroy the BTP as a national specialist railway police service." The letter also says that many of the reasons for change are based on false assertions about crime levels and offer only dubious benefits.
"Frankly, we believe this Paper has all the hallmarks of another policing initiative by David Blunkett." says Chairman Alex Robertson.
The Federation has asked for a meeting with the Transport Minister as soon as possible.
