A staggering one in seven Met police officers have been taken off the London’s streets due to ill health, poor performance, or misconduct allegations, new research reveals.

Information obtained by Lib Dem London Mayoral candidate Rob Blackie under the Freedom of Information Act (FOI) shows that 4,796 officers are currently classed as unfit for full frontline duty – largely due to sickness or misconduct charges. This amounts to over 14 percent of the force’s 34,000 serving police officers.

The startling figures come shortly after Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, said the Met Police is facing a “deeply concerning” shortfall in officer numbers amid recruitment struggles.

Rowley also previously hit out at red tape preventing the removal of underperforming officers. Speaking to The Times in 2022 he said: “We can’t as an organisation exist if we can’t deploy 10 or 20 percent of our people.”

Last year, an FOI request showed that 3,000 of officers were not fully deployable due to health or performance-related issues. A further 655 officers were side-lined due to serious misconduct allegations.

The latest information shows the situation has got worse, with the Met trailing behind other forces in England and Wales, whose average frontline deployment were listed at 91.1 percent on 31 March 2023.

Commenting on the new figures, Lib Dem Candidate for Mayor of London, Rob Blackie, said:

“These figures paint a grim picture of Britain’s biggest police service. They show our thin blue line has become even thinner due to Sadiq Khan’s mismanagement. This is the Mayor’s single biggest failure of his eight years in office.

“Sir Mark’s call for urgent action over two years ago has not resulted in improvements. The Met is in a mess. It’s clear that Londoners are crying out for someone who will fix their police force.

“We need every officer out there fighting crime. That’s why I’ve pledged to reallocate £117m from Sadiq Khan’s Tube fare freeze towards policing to help unlock up to 500 more police on the streets.”