The delay in the roll-out of a new emergency services communications system could cost the police millions of pounds.

The Home Office is working to replace the current network emergency services network, a radio-based system that the police, ambulance and fire services use to communicate.

Under the new system, they will communicate using mobile data – 4G, on EE.

The transition to the new system was supposed to take place in September 2017 but is now delayed and it is estimated this delay is costing the Metropolitan Police – who are still using the radio-based system – £52 million.

Now the London Assembly is calling on the Government to compensate the police service for this additional cost.

The calls came from Labour Assembly Member Unmesh Desai during a meeting on Monday.

Mr Desai said: “The Home Office’s failure to push through the transition of the Met’s radio system to the new Emergency Services Network programme on time is leaving our already overstretched police force facing a £50 million bill.

“If the Government refuses to intervene, its programme of cuts will mean that the Met will have had to find over £1 billion of savings from its budget by 2023.

“For this reason, it is only fair that any costs incurred by this delay are fully compensated by the Government.”

The London Assembly all backed Mr Desai’s calls.

The police service will still rely on the current airwave network until at least December 2022.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The costs for providing operational equipment for the police’s communications network has always been the responsibility of individual forces. This is the case with the current system, Airwave, and will be the case with ESN in future.”