Boris Johnson reveals plan to hire 20,000 extra cops in first full Cabinet meeting amid reshuffle bitterness fears
A BID to recruit an extra 20,000 cops will be launched by PM Boris Johnson.
The pledge, part of Mr Johnson’s new national agenda, follows his first full Cabinet meeting.
Thirty three ministers crammed around the table at No10 to start work on delivering a raft of domestic policy promises.
Flanked by new Chancellor Sajid Javid and the Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill, BoJo declared: “We are not going to wait to get on with a fantastic new agenda for our country — and that means delivering the priorities of the people.”
But his brutal reshuffle has led to fears Mr Johnson will have made many Tory backbench enemies.
In the Midlands he will confirm the Government wants to hire 20,000 more bobbies within three years, in a nationwide programme costing nearly £1billion.
In a statement, he said: “My job as Prime Minister is to make our streets safer.
“People want to see more officers in their neighbourhoods, protecting the public and cutting crime.
“I promised 20,000 extra officers and that recruitment will now start in earnest.”
The first officers are expected in September.
A new national Policing Board will be charged with ensuring forces meet targets by 2022.
Insiders also said Mr Johnson wanted to roll out new stop and search powers nationwide.
'RESHUFFLED HIS MAJORITY AWAY'
In Cabinet, Mr Johnson sipped on a mug of tea and told colleagues it was “wonderful to see this new team assembled here”.
He reiterated his promise that Britain would leave the EU on October 31.
And he added: “I hope we can all put our shoulders to the wheel and pull together.”
Nearly two thirds of the new Cabinet were privately educated, twice as many as under Theresa May.
There are four Old Etonians among 21 who attended fee-paying schools. Sixteen of those went to Oxbridge.
Boris kept eight women in his top team, but they make up a smaller proportion.
Sir Peter Lampl, of the Sutton Trust education charity, said: “The make-up underlines once again how unevenly spread opportunities are to enter the elites.”
Mr Johnson’s spokesman hit back: “He is absolutely serious in getting the right team in place to deliver an agenda which is designed to level up society.”
Meanwhile, a supporter of defeated leadership rival Jeremy Hunt reckoned that Mr Johnson had “reshuffled his majority away”.
They warned moderate Tories could go on strike when Parliament returns in September.
'COMPLETE MONSTER VOTE LEAVE TAKEOVER'
They said: “I think you’ll find that some MPs will be away when there are key votes on things they just don’t agree with.
“And remember, his majority is only three.”
Another Tory revealed deep splits in the party after receiving hate mail from their own colleagues.
They said the reshuffle was a “complete monster Vote Leave takeover”.
The Tory added: “We have become Leave.EU wing of the Conservative Party.
“How they can leave Jeremy Hunt, a Foreign Secretary and second in the leadership contest, out of the Cabinet is obscene.”
Mr Hunt, on a family holiday, played down rift talk.
He tweeted: “Thanks again to the many brilliant people who worked on my campaign and best of British to Boris in his new role where he will have our full support.”
But MPs warned some of BoJo’s own supporters were furious at missing out.
Remainer Lucy Frazer was said to be livid after failing to get a Cabinet position.
Another said that Kit Malthouse, the deputy London mayor under Boris, was also furious.
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Arch Brexiteer Steve Baker, who told allies he wanted to be Brexit Secretary, took himself off the “Boris” WhatsApp group.
One Tory said: “I fear Team Boris are making the same mistakes Theresa May’s crowd made when they turned up in 2016.
“They may well enjoy being arrogant and pushing people around now but the parliamentary arithmetic hasn’t changed. And it will get much more serious on September 3 when everyone comes back.”
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