THE Conservative frontrunner in the race to become next Mayor of London has said he would not stand in the way of plans for Hampstead residents to fund their own police, adding that the scale of cuts faced by the Met is “worrying”.

Zac Goldsmith, who is the bookies’ favourite to be Tory candidate to replace Boris Johnson, told the New Journal that if elected to City Hall he would look to reduce the £800million cut to the service that is expected to be made by 2020.

He said: “I do think we need to make the case for a smaller cut than has been proposed, because it’s going to be very hard.”

Last week, the New Journal revealed that residents in Hampstead are attempting to “crowdsource” £200,000 a year to pay for three additional police officers, with the Met providing the same number of officers free of charge.

The fundraising effort was launched in response to concerns that a reduction in community policing and the closure of Hampstead police station have led to an increase in “violent and aggressive” crime, with criminals targeting the area’s well-heeled residents. 

Asked about the scheme while on a visit to Belsize Park on Monday night, the MP for Kingston said: “It’s not a completely outlandish idea. In Kingston we have effectively bought extra policeman in order to protect the town centre. That’s a combination of funding from the Mayor and local authority.

“I don’t have any objection to that, it works in Kingston.

“But the bottom line is, we need to find the resources one way or another to keep London safe.”

He added: “The numbers that are being bandied around, in particular the £800million, which has not been confirmed by government, is a worrying figure. We need to make the case collectively to reduce the scale of the cut.”

Sian Berry, Green mayoral candidate and Highgate councillor, said that the “crowdsource a cop” plan “implicitly acknowledged one effect of the Conservatives’ failed austerity policies”, adding that, if introduced, it would be “morally suspect and practically unworkable”.

She said: “It is not right that, if you can afford it, you can buy more policing and justice than if you cannot. I appreciate the concerns of residents about the quality of policing, but the solution is in properly funded public services across the board, paid for, where necessary, by progressive taxation.”

The architect of the Hampstead policing plan, Jessica Learmond-Criqui, said that the government and Boris Johnson were guilty of “selective hearing” when residents raised concerns about police funding, adding: “We have tried appealing to the authorities to no avail. Next, we have considered a number of options of which this is one.

“The reaction so far [from the community] has been that people are interested, but they are disgusted by this state of affairs.”