The Met Police is set to close half of its police station front counters across London, including the one at Twickenham Police Station as part of a cost-cutting plan to address a £260 million budget deficit.

Leaked plans reveal that the number of front desks across the capital will be slashed from 37 to just 19, breaking Scotland Yard's long-standing pledge to maintain at least one 24-hour counter in each of London's 32 boroughs.

Under the proposals, only eight front desks will remain open 24/7, with another 11 operating on reduced hours, closing at 10pm on weekdays and 7pm at weekends.

In south west London, Twickenham, Merton, Wimbledon, Lavender Hill, and Mitcham are among those expected to lose their walk-in counters, meaning residents will no longer be able to speak to officers face-to-face in those locations.

Richmond Council has strongly "condemned" the closure of Twickenham's front desk, the only one in the borough, calling the decision "deeply concerning" and a "major blow" to local policing visibility and public confidence.

The nearest font desk to remain open is at Acton Police Station (credit: Cesar Medina).

Leader of Richmond Council, Councillor Gareth Roberts, said: "This is a shameful decision.

"When Richmond Police Station closed, residents were offered the reassurance that if they had any problems, they could go to Twickenham Police Station.

"The same assurance was offered when Teddington Police Station closed, and when Hampton Police Station closed.

"Now local residents are losing the very last police front counter in this borough.

"Following the decision to axe the Royal Parks Police, this is yet more evidence that the Mayor of London is failing in his duty to ensure the Government is providing sufficient funding to keep Richmond residents safe."

The Council emphasised that the importance of police front counters cannot be judged solely on footfall, particularly when public trust in policing remains fragile.

Vulnerable individuals, including the elderly, disabled, and those without digital access rely on in-person services to report crime.

Cllr Roberts added: "With this closure, the south west Borough Command will also lose its only 24/7 police desk, and the nearest 24/7 counters will be in Acton, Sutton, or Lambeth.

"This impacts more than 900,000 people across Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton, and Kingston.

"With the continued strain on resources across the borough and the city, residents already feel that their concerns about safety are not being addressed, and decisions like this undermine public confidence in local policing."

Twickenham and Richmond Liberal Democrats at Twickenham Police Station (credit: @munirawilson/X).

Twickenham MP Munira Wilson also criticised the decision, writing on X (formerly Twitter): "The front counter at Twickenham Police Station is vital for reporting crime & building trust and relationships with the local community.

"I joined residents and councillors to speak out against plans that would see Twickenham Police Station's front desk axed."

Twickenham and Richmond Liberal Democrats have since launched a petition to save the local front desk.

The decision has also drawn sharp criticism from Richmond Council's Green Party opposition.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Cllr Chas Warlow, said: "We're very concerned to hear about the closure of the front desk at Twickenham Police Station, which reduces still further the presence of the police in Richmond borough as a whole.

"It smacks of penny-pinching at a time when our public services need bolstering and the image of the Met is just starting to recover."

South Twickenham Cllr, Richard Bennett, commented: "Twickenham residents will not be happy about this news.

"The Met say that most contact with the police is now online rather than in person but removing the front desk will exclude the most vulnerable people in our society, those who cannot access online services easily, such as the elderly, the disabled and children.

"And how easy is it going to be to find or hand in lost property, for example? What will a parent do if they lose a child when out shopping?"

We want to provide Twickenham with more and more clickbait-free local news. To do that, we need a loyal newsletter following. Help us survive and sign up for our free weekly newsletter by clicking the link HERE.