RYEDALE MP and former policeman John Greenway made a keynote speech in the Commons last night criticising the Government's spending on policing.

Mr Greenway blasted Labour's "zero tolerance" attitude to crime as unworkable unless more officers were appointed.

He also claimed rural areas such as North Yorkshire were continually losing out to the country's big cities.

One example he made was the police in London getting an extra £10m towards funding its mounted section - while North Yorkshire's police horses were having to be sold in a cost-cutting move.

Provisional spending figures issued by the Government show the county will have £75.5m to spend in 1988/99, an increase of about 4.5 per cent on the current year's figure of £72.4 million.

Mr Greenway, who was appointed to put across the Conservative party's concerns, told the Evening Press: "I didn't want my speech to be nothing but criticism - North Yorkshire hasn't done too badly compared to other areas.

"But that doesn't take away from the fact that rural areas feel angry that so much more money is going to the metropolitan forces.

"A good example is that while North Yorkshire is having to get rid of its mounted section the force in London is getting an extra £10m to fund its mounted branch.

"Also, if Labour is to achieve its manifesto commitments on zero tolerance there will have to be more officers. How can a handful of officers looking after five or six market towns be expected to act on absolutely everything?

"If they were ordered to do a massive raid on every pub in North Yorkshire where cannabis and Ecstasy is available it would be impossible.

"The police just wouldn't have the manpower."

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