London will soon have only two Metropolitan Police stations open 24 hours a day, as the force moves ahead with plans to close or reduce hours at ten more stations — breaking a long-standing

pledge to keep at least one 24-hour counter in every borough.

Under the new measures, the number of police front counters where people can walk in and speak to officers will fall from 37 to 27. Most of those remaining will only open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends.

Only Lewisham and Charing Cross stations — the latter already under scrutiny as ten of its officers face investigation — will stay open around the clock.

The Met says the changes will save around £7 million and help plug a £260 million funding gap by reducing services and cutting roughly 1,700 officer and staff roles.

Vulnerable Londoners at risk

Critics fear the closures will hit the most vulnerable the hardest — particularly older people, those without internet access, or those with limited English skills.

Liberal Democrat assembly member Gareth Roberts said the plan could have “real-world consequences for hundreds, if not thousands, of Londoners.”

Broken promises and political tension

The move also marks a sharp departure from promises made by London’s mayor.

Mayor Sadiq Khan had pledged to keep at least one 24-hour counter in each of the 32 boroughs where the Met operates. He said he had “resisted closing front counters unless we really had to,” adding that the closures were ultimately an operational decision by the Met.

In 2013, London had almost 140 front counters. When Boris Johnson was mayor, 65 were closed. A few years later, under Khan, another 38 shut down.

The Met’s most recent strategy, A New Met for London, promised at least one 24/7 counter per borough — a commitment that now appears broken.

‘A difficult choice’

The Met maintains that most people now report crimes online or over the phone, and that front counters account for only 5% of all reports — about 50,000 of one million crimes annually.

Mr. Twist said the force faced “difficult choices,” but insisted the cuts would allow more officers to be visible on the streets.

“Londoners want to see more officers in their neighbourhoods — that’s exactly what we’re focusing on,” he said. “We’re keeping more counters open than originally planned, but we must reduce costs.”

Phones will be installed outside closed stations for emergencies, and Londoners will still be able to book in-person or video appointments with officers.

Stations facing closure

The following stations are due to lose their public counters:

Barking Learning Centre (Barking and Dagenham)

 Chingford (Waltham Forest)

 Church Street (Westminster)

 Harrow

 Kensington (Kensington and Chelsea)

 Mitcham (Merton)

Pinner (volunteer-run)

Royalty Studios (Kensington and Chelsea)

Twickenham (Richmond)

Wimbledon (Merton) 

Photo by Whatlep, Wikimedia commons.