Tories fret about losing public trust on law and order

London: Senior Tories have raised concerns that the party is risking its reputation for being strong on law and order as the police unveiled plans for a summer campaign of protest against coalition cuts.

Officers from more than 40 forces will put their case against the government's cost-cutting and wider changes, at a meeting in parliament Monday, while the Police Federation, which represents the rank and file, has announced a national "day of action" in July aimed at derailing the current policies.

David Davis, the Conservatives' former home affairs spokesman, expressed fears that the party was in danger of losing its reputation for being tough on crime and that public confidence was being dented by cuts to the police and justice systems combined with new liberal sentencing policies.

Serious risk

After a week in which the justice secretary, Kenneth Clarke, caused a storm over proposals to offer shorter sentences to rapists who confessed at an early stage, Davis said: "There is a serious risk that the Conservative party will lose its clear 20 to 30 point opinion poll leads [over Labour] on crime and immigration if it does not take a clearer stance on these issues."

At the same time, Lab-our moved swiftly to fill what it believes is a policy void. The party's home affairs spokeswoman, Yvette Cooper, pledged to set up an independent commission on the future of the police while it is still in opposition if ministers continue to refuse to do so. The independent commission would draw on evidence from police officers past and present as well as law officers and academics.

The Police Federation, which represents 138,000 officers, said it had never experienced such dire relations with any government. Its president, Paul McKeever, said: "It's the most difficult time anybody has ever faced in the lifetime of the federation."

Huge job cuts

He also revealed the first details of a rolling programme of protests, including a "major event" in July. The events would culminate in officers targeting the Conservative and Liberal Democrat party conferences this autumn if the plans have not been dropped or drastically changed. The federation says that spending cuts totalling 20 per cent over four years will lead to the loss of 20,000 jobs.

— Guardian News & Media Ltd