Operation Trident to be spared in Met budget cuts

Scotland Yard said today there were no plans to disband the Operation Trident squad which investigates black-on-black gun crime in London.

The statement came after it emerged that the squad's murder teams could be broken up because of government spending cuts. The proposal was condemned by leading figures in the black community as well as victims' families.

Initially, the Met said that all commands in the Met were being scrutinised as part of the spending cuts. Now senior Met officers have told the Standard that they expect the unit to stay as it is. There has been pressure to merge Trident's murder squads with the Homicide and Serious Crime Command wing of the Met, which is home to 24 murder investigation teams.

Tensions between the units were highlighted this month by the double murder of Lee Wallace, 25, and Jayson Hassan, 28, when jurisdiction issues emerged.

Trident's officers also investigate all non-fatal shootings in the capital and the unit has a number of "pro-active" teams engaged in disrupting known gangsters.