THE government’s denial of a link between cuts to police officers and a recent spate of fatal stabbings in London was rubbished yesterday by Sadiq Khan, who said Home Office officials had already admitted it.

Home Office Minister Victoria Atkins said a change in the nature of crime, rather than cuts in police numbers, lies behind the four fatal stabbings — including three teenagers — in the capital within five days over the last week.

She told Radio 4’s Today programme that an intensive government review had shown that “the claim about police numbers isn’t supported by the evidence of previous spikes in serious violence.”

Ms Atkins said: “The levels of violence which doctors are now seeing in A&Es show that incidents which before perhaps wouldn’t have resulted in fatalities now are resulting in fatalities.

“We and the police and others have to face up to the reality that criminals are changing their crime types and we have to be able to tackle that.”

However, Mayor of London Mr Khan told the broadcaster that the Home Office’s own officials had said in a leaked document that there is a link between falling police numbers and rising crime.

“The cross-party home affairs select committee published a scathing report two weeks ago talking about the link between a cut in police resources and the increase in crime,” he said.

“The most senior police officers in the country have said it’s naive to think there’s not a link between cutting police numbers and an increase in violent crime.”

It could take “a generation” to turn the tide of violent crime in London, he said while praising the success of Glasgow at reducing knife crime by young people through co-operation between the health, education, social, housing and police services.

There have been 116 homicides in London so far this year.