"The police protects us, and we're going to protect the police," George Osborne said, as he delivered his 2015 Autumn Statement.
MPs cheered and police forces across the UK sighed with relief. But it seems the chancellor's U-turn omitted three vital forces which guard the country's railway network, military sites and nuclear installations.
3 police forces at risk of budget cuts, despite George Osborne’s pledge to protect spending https://t.co/UrfaaHLaO6 pic.twitter.com/GZqi8OyNRW
— Kevin Rawlinson (@KevinJRawlinson) December 13, 2015
British Transport Police, Ministry of Defense Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary were all excluded from the plan. The three forces have 6,000 officers and patrol the railways in England, Scotland and Wales, guard military bases across the UK and protect nuclear sites and nuclear waste when it's transported.
Shadow treasury minister Rebecca Long-Bailey said: "It's fundamentally dishonest for George Osborne to claim he's protecting police spending when his pledge does not include policing our public transport system, guarding our military or protecting nuclear installations and materials.
"This is deeply alarming given that the last two terrorist attacks in Britain were in a tube station and outside a military base, and nuclear facilities are an obvious target," said Long-Bailey.
When a man wielding a knife began to attack passengers at an East London tube station, British Transport Police were the first to respond.
British Transport Police deploying extra armed, plain clothes and uniformed officers to stations across London after #Leytonstone attack
— Mark White (@skymarkwhite) December 6, 2015
In 2013, a British soldier was attacked near the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, southeast London.
Michael Adebolajo and Michael Adebowale used knives and a cleaver to hack Lee Rigby to death, claiming that they had killed a soldier to avenge the killing of Muslims by British armed forces.
Refuting the suggestion that the Chancellor is not committed to funding all police forces in Britain, a government spokeswoman said:
"Funding for other specialist police forces is not provided by a central government grant and comes from other sources, including industry. We are committed to funding our police forces across the country to protect Britain's national security."
