Met chiefs to axe 1,000 PCSOs

POLICING: Metropolitan Police chiefs plan to axe more than 1,000 police community support officers (PCSOs), it was revealed yesterday.

The cuts are believed to have been prompted by a £600 million cut to the Met’s budget under the last government and an expectation that £800m more will be slashed under the current one.

Public-sector union PCS leader Mark Serwotka said: “PCSOs provide a link between communities and the police.”

RMT: Overcrowding a disgrace to railways

TRANSPORT: Overcrowding on Britain’s rail network is a “national disgrace,” the RMT union said yesterday.

The comment followed official figures revealing that, every day, hundreds of thousands of passengers on trains into London are forced to stand, particularly during peak periods.

Meanwhile, profiteer companies who lease carriages to train operators are cashing in on the extra revenue created by overcrowding.

Leeds rail staff vote on pay strike

INDUSTRIAL: Office staff at Leeds railway station are to vote on strike action over pay cuts.

The customer relations staff are balloting in protest at the reclassifying of their pay grades by employers Northern Rail, their union RMT said yesterday.

“RMT intends to fight these plans at Northern which we see as the thin end of a very long wedge and which would batter the working conditions and living standards of our members,” said general secretary Mick Cash.

Magistrates’ protest resignations a worry

COURTS: The number of magistrates who have resigned in protest at the criminal courts charge is “deeply worrying,” the head of the Magistrates Association (MA) said yesterday.

Sources at the MA suggested to the Independent that more than 50 had quit the bench over the levy, which was brought in by the coalition government and is claimed to ensure that criminals contribute towards the cost of their court case.