Met and Mayor in cash clash

Ken Livingstone has become embroiled in a row with Britain's top policeman over plans to put more bobbies on the beat.

The Mayor wants to set up sixstrong teams of officers from next April to patrol key neighbourhoods in every borough.

He wants to get back to a situation where a "policeman is just around the corner" and claims such a policy could have prevented the deaths of Stephen Lawrence and Damilola Taylor.

But Met commissioner Sir John Stevens has warned the Mayor that his plans - known as Step Change - may have to be scrapped unless he gives the police more council tax money.

The Met claims it has lost £56million in Government grants to other forces because of the formula used by Whitehall to distribute police funding.

This means it will be unable to take on an extra 257 specialist security staff to deal with the threat of a terrorism on the capital.

Mr Livingstone is negotiating with Sir John over next year's Met budget, which is partly funded through the Mayor's share of the council tax, with the majority provided by the Government.

The Mayor does not want his share of the council tax, which also helps fund London fire brigade, Transport for London and City Hall, to rise by more than 10 per cent.

But Sir John has told him that the Step Change proposals - which would cost £26.6 million to set up next year and £341 million by 2010 - may have to be jettisoned to balance the Met's books.

In a strongly worded submission to today's meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Sir John says the "only viable option" may be for the plans to be shelved for a year.

A spokeswoman for the Mayor said: " There is absolutely no question whatsoever of Step Change not going ahead next year."