Through security and intelligence cuts, the Tories failed to protect us | Diane Abbott

Cuts have consequences. In the wake of the terrible events in Manchester and the dreadful loss of life last week, there is a temptation to point the finger at the security services and say: if this potential terrorist was known to the security and intelligence agencies, why wasn’t he monitored and prevented from carrying out this murderous assault?

Of course, those agencies will have to answer for themselves if there were any operational or procedural errors. But no agency can be expected to prevent every single attacker, who are sometimes deranged individuals acting alone, with limited planning and little or no help.

But citizens have a right to expect that the government considers their safety to be its number one priority, and provides the resources necessary to protect them. It is no exaggeration to say that this government has failed in that elementary duty.

This is not a charge that should ever be laid lightly. But consider the evidence. Under the Tories, more than 20,000 police officers have been cut. The government was warned by experts, by police officers and, yes, by Jeremy Corbyn and others at the time that this could have grave consequences in the fight against terrorism. But with Theresa May as home secretary they cut anyway.

The same is true for the Border Force. Despite lots of rhetoric about border security and control, the Tories have axed 1,000 staff from the Border Force on May’s watch.

We know our security and emergency services spring into action in an emergency. But the Tories cut the fire service too

But what will perhaps most concern those asking how terrorists slip through the net, is that the Tories cut the budget in real terms for the security and intelligence agencies themselves. They also cut the numbers of personnel.

When Labour left office in 2010 there were 12,700 personnel in the security and intelligence agencies. The Tory-led coalition immediately cut staff with the promise to recover them over time, but never did – despite the growing terrorist threat.

The agencies are also directed to the wrong priorities. We saw recently that the government’s cybersecurity strategy is primarily an offensive one, neglecting our own defences and only narrowly avoiding disaster for the NHS. The same is true in counter-terrorism. In George Osborne’s last autumn statement in 2015 he committed four times as much in counter-terrorism funding to the special forces operating overseas as he did to counter-terrorism efforts through the Home Office.

This is the wrong priority. The safety and security of our citizens must always come first. Labour will always ensure that is our priority, and that the security and intelligence services get the resources they need to defend us from terrorism here at home.