Surrey Police’s crime commissioner Kevin Hurley has said a u-turn over police cuts that were expected to be announced this week has led to “a great sigh of relief”.

From Jan: 'You're all in danger': Surrey police boss Kevin Hurley warns Government cuts are undermining battle against cybercrime and terrorism

The commissioner had been ready for the order to make £25m worth of cuts along with slashing 400 jobs across over four years, but it appears Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne had had a “change of heart” while announcing the spending review on Wednesday.

In a statement Mr Hurley said: “I am very pleased and proud that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has been listening to the outcry from me and others in the past few weeks, and has made a complete u-turn on police spending cuts.

“Following the atrocities in Paris and the consequent need for increased security all over Europe, it would have been irresponsible to reduce the number of officers in the community who are not only the eyes and ears of counter terrorism policing, but invariably first on the scene when something terrible happens.”

From Nov 5: Budget cuts mean gangs will 'wise up' and take on overstretched police, Surrey's deputy crime commissioner Jeffrey Harris says

Mr Hurley had previously said that “police are almost at the point where they can’t cope”, and that gangs were “wising up” to the effect of budget cuts on police work.

He used this week’s announcement as an opportunity to detail the strain on current police forces, saying child protection cases had risen by 450 per cent, child sexual exploitation cases had increased by 115 per cent and honour-based violence had also gone up by 400 per cent.

He added the proposed cuts were “never justifiable” and said: “In Surrey, as everywhere else in the country, we are experiencing dramatic and extreme changes in the nature of crime.

“Increased resources are needed not only in public protection, but also in online crime and visible policing.”

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