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| London fire station closures and 520 job cuts proposed | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Plans to close 12 fire stations in London have been unveiled, with the loss of 520 jobs. | |
| The proposals, announced by London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, are part of plans to save £45m over the next two years. | The proposals, announced by London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson, are part of plans to save £45m over the next two years. |
| The stations include Belsize in Camden, Bow in Tower Hamlets and Westminster in central London. | The stations include Belsize in Camden, Bow in Tower Hamlets and Westminster in central London. |
| Labour said the cuts would "put the safety and security of Londoners at risk". | Labour said the cuts would "put the safety and security of Londoners at risk". |
| Mr Dobson said about 10% of frontline firefighter posts would be axed but he hoped to avoid compulsory redundancies. | |
| The number of fire stations in London would be reduced to 100 under the proposals, which are due to go before the fire authority later this month. | |
| Mr Dobson said he hoped firefighters would not take industrial action over the planned cuts and stressed the authority had to make savings because of reductions to its budget. | |
| Chelsea, Chingford, Hayes, Leyton, Leytonstone, Peckham and Whitechapel could also lose one of their two fire engines. | |
| Navin Shah, Labour London Assembly Fire spokesman, called the cuts "truly reckless". | |
| "How can cutting 12 of our fire stations, 18 fire engines and 400 firefighters be in the best interest of Londoners?" he said. | |
| "The government are cutting too far and too fast, hitting the frontline and fundamentally undermining the ability of the fire brigade to do their job. | |
| "It's time that the Mayor stood up for Londoners and got a better deal from central government." |