Speaking in an Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons, Rushanara Ali MP has raised concerns about the Mayor of London’s reported plans to close Bow and Whitechapel fire stations as part of a £65 million cut the London fire services budget.

With the Mayor reportedly looking to close seventeen fire stations in total across London, resulting in the loss of six hundred fire fighters, Rushanara emphasised that the cuts would be felt hardest in Tower Hamlets.

Rushanara said: “The Mayor’s proposals to cut our local Fire Brigade would represent the deepest cut to a borough’s fire service in the whole of London.

“Tower Hamlets has the highest rates of fire call outs in the whole of London, yet Boris Johnson thinks stripping our borough of a third of its fire stations is a sensible idea. This would leave Bethnal Green and Bow with nearly one hundred fewer staff, four fewer appliances, and just one remaining fire station.”

With the Government slashing the national fire services budget by 25%, Rushanara added:

“I am shocked at the Government and the London Mayor’s apparent willingness to take such risks with the safety of residents in Tower Hamlets and across London. I call on the Mayor of London to reverse these plans, as nothing is more important than protecting lives.”