Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has drawn up plans to close half of London’s police stations, leaked documents have revealed.

A series of emails between police officials and City Hall staff seen by the Guardian, show proposals to reduce the number of stations open to the public across the capital from 73 to 36.

The plans, which were first mooted in emails in January this year, would likely see just one police station with a 24-hour front desk in most boroughs, with two remaining open in some busier areas.

The closures would come after the Met has been forced to find £600 million in savings as a result of central Government cuts since 2010.

In May, a statement released by Mr Khan warned around 50 per cent of London’s police stations could close if the Conservatives won the General Election.

Tory London Assembly member Gareth Bacon said: “Sadiq Khan has attempted to profit politically from the public’s security concerns in the wake of two major terrorist attacks by claiming he would be forced to close police stations if the Conservatives were elected.

“In reality, he and his team have been planning in secret to close half of London’s police stations and front counters for over six months – even discussing the best way to spin it to the public.

“This was a blatant attempt by the Mayor to manipulate public concern for political gain and deflect blame for his own decisions onto central government.

“Londoners deserve better transparency when it comes to decisions affecting front line policing at such a sensitive time.”

Redbridge currently has two 24-hour police stations, in Ilford and Barkingside, while the Met’s Woodford station is open between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday.

In Waltham Forest, only Chingford police station operates 24 hours a day, while a police office in Walthamstow High Street is open from 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Saturday.

Speaking at Mayor’s Question Time yesterday (Thursday, June 22), Mr Khan blamed central government cuts for the decision to close stations.

He said: “There are a number of things we are doing to make savings from police counters to police stations to borough command units.

“If the government proceeds with its cuts, we will need to close half of the police stations in London.

“This could lead to each borough only having one 24-hour, seven-day-a-week police station open to the public and the busiest boroughs may have another one.

“That is the consequence of the cuts from central government, such as the funding formula changes and the lack of inflation increases.”