It was wrong for leading Waltham Forest Conservatives, in last week's paper to disparage the police figures used within the Labour Party campaign leaflet.

Firstly, it was Conservatives and not Labour who have lied about police figures. Boris Johnson said the number of Met officers would rise by almost 1,200 by 2015, when Metropolitan Police figures, on his own website, suggest the total rise will be just 56.

Secondly, in a period when the rise in London wide officers would be minimal. The Labour council led a successful campaign called "120 - Calling for Back Up" that asked Boris to boost the number of police officers in the borough by 120. We got an extra 119 police officers, a figure we referred to in our leaflet. This was the largest increase of any London borough. Do the local Conservatives think this is just happy coincidence?

I have attached an image that I give you permission to use, clearly showing Chris Robbins campaigning in Chingford for the 120 extra officers as evidence of our successful campaign for a rise in police numbers.

The level of vitriol directed at myself and my fellow Labour candidates in Chingford and Woodford Green by the Conservatives comes, sadly, as no surprise. The campaign for many seats in Chingford will be close, however this is no reason to lie to the electorate - the people of Waltham Forest are smarter than that. This is why in the upcoming election you will be only hearing facts from the Labour Party.

Simon Bottomley, Hale End and Highams Park Labour Action Team, Waltham Forest