The prime minister was hit with a hilarious community note on X after claiming more than 20,000 police officers have been recruited since 2019.
Posted on the official page for the UK Prime Minister, the tweet added that home secretary Suella Braverman had welcomed “some of them” to Downing Street to recognise their “public service”.
But voters were quick to debunk the claim with users slapping a ‘community note’ under the post providing “additional context”, in a sign the government has been economical with the truth when it comes to police officer recruitment.
With a link to analysis published by FullFact, the note said: “Whilst 20,000 police officers have been recruited, police officer numbers have only increased by around 3,500 since 2010.”
It follows Braverman’s appearance on Sky News on Monday during which she was challenged on the accuracy of current police officer numbers.
Unveiling a “huge programme” on police reform, including calls to investigate “every theft”, the home secretary echoed claims that the government had fulfilled its pledge to recruit 20,000 police officers by March 2023.
But Steve Hartshorn, national chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales argued the figures were “misplaced”, with the new officers a “backfill” of the officers cut since 2010.
According to Home Office figures, the number of police officers in England and Wales has steadily declined since the Tories entered office, decreasing by 13.9% between 2010 and 2018.
Based on a headcount of all employees, the figures paint a disturbing picture of decline, with the party entering office with 148,725 police officers at the beginning of the decade, before losing more than 20,000 officers.
Quoting the same figures, analysis by FullFact adds: “As of 31 March 2023, there are a total of 149,572 police officers in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales— a 21,139 increase on the government’s baseline figure of 128,433, and around 3,500 more than the headcount in March 2010.
“The government says of these 21,139 officers, 20,951 were recruited using funding from the Police Uplift Programme.
It adds: “While these figures are correct, they don’t tell the full story about what’s happening with police officer recruitment.
“Selective use of official information without appropriate context can damage public trust in both official information and politicians.”
Related: Suella Braverman caught giving ‘false figures’ by Sky News host