The Mayor of London has pledged an extra £110 million to support the Metropolitan Police service as part of his latest budget.

Sadiq Khan said the money would push the burden for policing in the capital “away from hard-pressed Londoners”.

It comes after the Met has been forced to find savings of £325 million by 2020/21 and it expects to see police numbers drop to just 30,000 by April this year.

Services across London have been merged into Basic Command Units (BCU) meaning that neighbouring boroughs will have to share resources.

Harrow’s merger with Barnet and Brent is expected to go live in September 2018.

Mr Khan’s funding, which is subject to approval by the London Assembly, means that 23 per cent of the Met’s budget is now provided by City Hall.

The Mayor also committed money to young people by setting up the Young Londoners Fund – a £45 million investment to be spread out over three years.

He offered up grants to support homeless people, as well as setting aside money to boost the city’s culture and environment.

And a further £140 million was devoted to economic projects tasked with improving business, infrastructure and housing, while councils across London will each receive a pot to help improve their neighbourhoods.

Mr Khan said: “This budget is designed to deliver on my ambition to ensure that all Londoners get the opportunities that our city gave to me.

“These are challenging times – with Brexit posing a real threat to jobs and prosperity and the Government’s continued austerity programme damaging public services in our city.

“However, I am convinced that this budget will improve the lives of all Londoners and increase the opportunities available for Londoners to fulfil their potential.”

His supporters praised the suggestions, with the Assembly Member for Brent and Harrow, Navin Shah, touching on the extra funding allocated for tackling female genital mutilation (FGM).

FGM, which is traditional in some cultures, involves the partial or full removal of the external genitalia of girls and young women for non-medical reasons.

An investigation by the Home Affairs Committee into the illegal practice in local authorities found that, between April 2015 and March 2016, 460 cases were reported in Harrow.

This was the fourth highest in England, with only Brent, Bristol and Birmingham recording more instances in this timeframe.

Mr Shah said: “The Mayor’s announcement today is much needed as this vital resource will be put in place to tackle FGM in our capital.

“I have seen first-hand how community activists such as Norbury School in Harrow have been working hard to tackle FGM by sharing good practice amongst other schools in Harrow and London.

“I hope that a significant portion of any funding will go towards supporting the leading community activists who are already working on this issue.’’