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148 
Police cut funds for London lorry checks
Page 7
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by Miles Brignall • Illegal operators in London are escaping detection because Metropolitan Police chiefs are no longer prepared to fund multi-agency checks within the Capital and are cancelling roadside checks as a result.
Both the London Lorry Control Unit and Vehicle Inspectorate are regularly losing checks as stretched forces are putting other activities ahead of stopping and checking trucks.
The news comes just weeks before a report commissioned by the Home Office examining core police activities is due to be published. It is expected to call for more selective enforcement to save money. The report is
also expected to rule, despite pressure from the VI and local authorities, that only the police shall have the right to stop traffic (see page 14) Principal enforcement officer at London's Lorry Control Unit, Chris Hudson-Gaol, says the number of roadside checks carried out with the police has fallen sharply. "Last year there were 65 checks. I've only booked 39 this year, but we'll be lucky if we manage 25," he says. "The police are simply not turning up. Only the City of London Police provide cover." El John White. the VI's area manager for London, is meeting the Metropolitan Police in two weeks to discuss the manning of agency checks.