Met Police still wearing uniforms with late Queen’s cypher ‘to save cash'
The Metropolitan Police has not upgraded uniform to include the King's monogram as the cash-strapped force claim they have been advised to save on costs.
New recruits to London’s police force are still being provided with uniforms bearing the late Queen Elizabeth’s cypher two years on from her death.
The Metropolitan Police has defended the move as the force was reportedly ordered to only replace uniforms due to wear and tear, rather than outdated symbolism.
The delay in updating official uniforms means the Met has fallen behind other forces, including Greater Manchester Police, who introduced the King’s new monogram to uniforms several months ago.
Last month Sir Mark Rowley declared the Met Police budget was “heading off a cliff” and the force would need hundreds of millions of pounds to avoid closing premises and cutting resources.
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The MailOnline published photos of police helmets reportedly issued to this year’s new recruits emblazoned with the late Queen’s royal cypher.
The force subsequently came under fire from Scotland Yard’s former head of royal protection Dai Davies who described the failure to update uniforms as “bizarre”.
Mr Davies said: “All officers swear allegiance to King Charles, but how can you do that wearing the late Queen’s cypher?”
He ordered the Met to provide a specific deadline for the uniforms to be changed and described the failure to display the correct royal monogram as a display of “incompetence”.
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It is not the first time the Met has been scrutinised over the use of the late Queen’s cypher as police officers involved in the King’s coronation last year wore uniforms bearing Queen Elizabeth’s E II R design.
The official royal cypher of King Charles III was released over two years ago, featuring his initials and the Tudor Crown, rather than the St Edward’s Crown used by his mother.
When questioned about the outdated royal cypher featured on police uniforms, a spokesperson for the Met Police told Express.co.uk: “The Home Office have advised the force to take a ‘no cost’ approach to changing uniform.
“This means that as uniform is required to be replaced through normal wear and tear, and issued to new recruits, the CR III emblem will start to be rolled out.
“This approach will be phased over the coming months and years.”
