Theresa Villiers believes London Mayor Sadiq Khan has taken the decision to help Labour win Boris Johnson’s former seat, reports David Floyd

A lamp with 'Metropolitan Police' in white on blue glass outside a police station — Chipping Barnet MP Theresa Villiers is suspicious of Sadiq Khan’s motives on police station closures – (Credit – LDRS)

Theresa Villiers has called on the Mayor of London to save Barnet police station while suggesting that a similar decision in Uxbridge is politically motivated.

The Chipping Barnet MP implored Sadiq Khan to provide “a lifeline” for the local premises after he cancelled the planned sell off of Uxbridge police station in the midst of the by-election campaign caused by the resignation of former prime minister Boris Johnson.

Labour’s by-election candidate in Uxbridge and South Ruislip, Danny Beales, announced yesterday: “Great news! We’ve won our campaign to keep Uxbridge police station open.”

He said he had: “been in touch with City Hall directly to put pressure on them to look again” at the decision to close the station and “today I’m delighted to announce that this pressure has paid off.”

Adding: ”This is just the start of what I want to deliver as a strong local voice for the people of Uxbridge and South Ruislip.”

An unimpressed Villiers responded to the news saying: “Mayor Khan’s announcement looks like a cynical attempt to influence the outcome of the forthcoming by-election. If he has u-turned on selling off Uxbridge police station, then he should do the same for Barnet. It would be disgraceful if he refused to listen to Barnet residents who want to save their police station just as much as they do in Uxbridge. This Uxbridge decision must be a lifeline for Barnet police station.”

The station, situated in the High Street at the top of Barnet Hill, has not been open to the public since 2017. The planned sale was originally announced in 2021 but in 2022 the deputy mayor for policing, Sophie Linden, assured Villiers that the station would not be closed until alternative premises were found for the neighbourhood teams currently based there.

Now the MP sees an opportunity to reverse the decision to close the station. In a letter to the mayor yesterday she wrote: “I understand that you have asked Sir Mark Rowley not to sell-off Uxbridge police station. In your recent response to my letter on Barnet police station and other matters, you said that it was the Met police and not you who makes decisions on the police station estate.

“Clearly the by-election in Uxbridge means that you have changed your view on this. Can I therefore ask that you intervene to save Barnet police station?

“You say you have made your decision on Uxbridge after listening to local people. I can assure you that my constituents want to save their police station, just as much as people in Uxbridge want to save theirs. I therefore ask you to listen to them too.

“The case for retaining Barnet police station is just as strong as it is for Uxbridge. It would be unfair and unreasonable to deny people in Barnet the support you have now given to Uxbridge.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.