COMMENTS praising police for the job they do in Wrexham by Welsh Secretary Cheryl Gillan have been branded as “distasteful” by the town’s MP.

The Conservative Minister spent a few hours last Friday night on patrol with police in Wrexham town centre and said later she had been impressed by the professionalism they showed.

But Wrexham Labour MP Ian Lucas claimed the police work she saw will be affected by cuts being imposed by the Government.

He said: “As local MP, I too have witnessed the excellent work that Wrexham’s police do on our town’s streets at night.

“What officers do is very impressive and helps to keep our streets safe at night, and Cheryl Gillan is right to praise officers for their role.

“However, to lavish such praise on officers when her Government is leaving an axe hanging over their head seems, at the least, distasteful.”

He added: “North Wales Police Authority reports earlier this year suggested hundreds of officers could lose their job as a result of the cuts being forced on the police by the Government.

“That will clearly have an impact on good work being done in towns and villages across North Wales, including on the type of work the Secretary of State has seen at first hand in Wrexham.

“North Wales Labour MPs have met Chief Constable Mark Polin to discuss the impact of such cuts, raised them in Parliament and pushed Ministers for questions.

“Cheryl Gillan is quite right that the police we have in North Wales do a difficult job in a very professional manner.

“Perhaps she could speak up for those Welsh officers and their jobs in Parliament when Government cuts are discussed in the coming months.”