The Metropolitan Police has announced it will increase pay for thousands of officers beyond the 7% rise the prime minister announced on Thursday.
The force, which is the biggest in the UK with nearly 40,000 officers, has said the move will help it to “recruit and retain the best people” to serve the public in the capital.
The Met has said that on top of the 7% rise, all police officers in the Met will see their annual salary increase by an additional £1,000 a year.
This excludes the most senior ranks – commander to commissioner.
Meanwhile, new recruits who complete their training and pass out as warranted officers will also receive an additional £100 a month in their pay.
The Met Police has said it will work with trade unions to negotiate and finalise an equivalent pay award for police staff.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We are determined to deliver the best police service we can for Londoners.
“To achieve that we need to be able to recruit and retain the best people which, in the current economic climate and with such a competitive job market, is challenging.
“We also need to set our existing officers up to succeed and recognise the extraordinary work they do.”
He added: “The 7% award from the government was welcome. However, we believe strongly that we must go further for our officers in order to address the spiralling cost of living and the additional financial challenges faced by officers and staff that relate to working in London.”
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Paul Deller, the general secretary of the Met Federation, the staff association which represents the force’s officers, said: “The Met Federation welcomes the commissioner’s decision to award officers an additional £1,000 on top of the seven per cent pay award recommended by the police remuneration review body.
“This demonstrates how far policing has fallen behind in terms of pay. The commissioner has recognised this and has been vocal in his calls for a substantial pay rise.”
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From March: Met Police receives damning report The pay rise comes months after a review found the Met Police is institutionally racist, sexist and homophobic and may have more have officers like killer Wayne Couzens and rapist David Carrick.
Couzens was handed a whole-life prison term for murdering 33-year-old marketing executive Sarah Everard in March 2021.
Carrick was jailed for at least 30 years in February this year after it emerged he is one of Britain’s most prolific sex offenders.
The Met Police pay rise was announced by the prime minister on Thursday as he agreed to give salary increases of between 5 and 7% to millions of UK public sector workers.