Now the Home Office says 'cheap' Blunkett Bobbies should be used as an alternative to trained police

The revelations were included in a leaked letter warning that crime is likely to rise in the economic downturn.

As the Daily Mail revealed yesterday, a shortage of funds caused by the credit crunch may lead to a reduction in police officer numbers, according to the draft letter to the Prime Minister. 

Deleted sections of a letter by Home Office officials suggest 'greater deployment' of community support officers, who are 'cheaper' than trained police

Now sections included in an earlier version of the letter, composed by officials working for Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, have emerged.

They suggest Community Support Officers, who receive less training and salary than trained police, could be used to fill the gap.

One paragraph inserted in the document but later deleted, said: 'We have a robust position on expecting the police service to maximise efficiency gains including workforce reforms that will also see changes to workforce mix, of the kind that will reduce cost pressures e.g greater deployment for suitable tasks of grades such as PCSOs that are cheaper than Police Officers.'

It followed a section, not deleted, saying: 'An economic downturn could lead to a position where police authorities were unwilling to increase police precepts (which account for around 25 per cent of police authority funding) to the maximum permitted extent.

'This, along with other cost pressures...might leave forces facing financial pressures and require difficult decisions over officer numbers and priorities.'

Opponents said that, while it had been removed from the draft letter, it laid bare the attitudes of Home Office officials.

Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'While PCSOs have a role to play they're no substitute for real officers. The Government should be cutting red tape so what officers we do have can spend more time on the beat.'

Police Minister Tony McNulty denied there would be any reduction in police numbers, and said he would have removed any suggestion that that would happen from the draft letter if he had been shown the correspondence.

The 12-page report said crime, illegal working, extremism and even the number of terrorists could surge in the credit crunch.

But Mr McNulty said suggesting the economic downturn will lead to rising crime levels was a ' statement of the blindingly obvious'.

A Home Office spokesman said deleted text from draft documents did not represent Government policy.

'The facts are that PCSOs play a vital role in Neighbourhood Policing teams and are an established and much valued presence in local communities.

'The Government is totally committed to supporting both PCSOs and police constables now and in the future to build on a decade of crime fighting success.'