The post earlier this morning about the planned disbanding of the Parks Police was based on a report in the Richmond Nub News. Cllr Julia Cambridge has replied to this post to the effect that the report was not correct.

‘I attended a specially called meeting of the Safer Parks Police Panel where representatives of both Richmond and Bushy SPPP members were present. 

‘We were given an update on the recent news that the Royal Parks Police Units may be disbanded due to lack of funding. Whilst no final decision has been made or given to the police involved it was made clear that difficult decisions might be made and if so they would come ‘in the calendar year’. 

‘The petition is still running to stop the cuts and a campaign developing to, as a worst case scenario, press the MET Police leadership to leave a reduced number of specialist police to patrol and look after Richmond and Bushy Parks as part of a force where a few officers from the existing unit are absorbed into the South West Command Unit.’

You can’t check your sources too carefully, even if they are reported in local news outlets!