Tower Hamlets council was criticised today for giving its enforcement officers a day off during the London riots.
Tower Hamlets has 16 £32,000-a-year enforcement officers (THEOs) who patrol the borough in high visibility uniforms to "help raise the standards of cleanliness and safety in the borough".
The Conservatives have called on Tower Hamlets continually and on mayor Lutfur Rahman to "spend this money on real police officers with real powers".
The day after the riots in Tottenham, the officers were given their usual Monday off despite concerns of disorder in the borough. Critics say the move shows the THEOs are a "scandalous waste of money".
Tower Hamlets council said the disturbances were too violent for the THEOs to be deployed. However, they were seen patrolling the borough on Tuesday and Wednesday as the rioting across the city continued.
The Conservatives have long maintained that the THEOs serve no real purpose. Now we know that their shift patterns were not altered to help with the worst rioting and disorder seen in the Capital for years demonstrates how ineffectual they actually are. Surely the money would be better spent on more police.