London's top cop calls for police bonuses to be scrapped

BONUSES for police officers should be scrapped, Met Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has said. London s top cop made the claim in an interview with the daily Telegraph and says it would repair public confidence in the force. Sir Paul told the paper

BONUSES for police officers should be scrapped, Met Police commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson has said.

London's top cop made the claim in an interview with the daily Telegraph and says it would repair public confidence in the force.

Sir Paul told the paper: "I am very disappointed that we still have bonus payments in policing.

"Now is the time to get rid of them, as far as I'm concerned. They should never have been there in the first place."

The Met chief earns �250,000 a year but has turned down more than �100,000 in performance-related bonuses since 2005.

Chief constables of England and Wales also told new Home Secretary Theresa May at a meeting that bonuses for all officers should be ended.

Sir Paul also said he did not think bonus payments motivated people to work harder, and warned they could be "divisive".

He said that if he had accepted bonuses, his operational independence and discharge of duties would have been compromised.