Following reports that the police need £1.3bn more to fight terror and crime, Liberal Democrat Home Affairs spokesperson Ed Davey said:

“The Conservatives have savaged our police force – inflicting deep cuts that have left officers struggling to respond to crime and weakening their ability to protect our communities.

“Despite the government promising to protect police budgets we have seen cuts year after year which have resulted in fewer police patrolling our streets and, as a consequence, crime going up.

“It is time that Amber Rudd did her job and defended the police against further cuts. She should be spending the weeks in the run up to the budget getting guarantees from the PM and Chancellor that they will fund community policing properly and start fixing the mess they have made.”