More than half of Kingston police officers live outside London, statistics show.

The figures, which show that 54 per cent of Kingston’s officers live outside the capital, were released by London Assembly member Sian Berry to highlight the “lack of progress” in a Metropolitan Police drive to recruit more London-based officers.

On average 49 per cent of Met officers live in London and just 6.8 per cent in the borough they work in.

In the report, Ms Berry said: “The Met recognised that the number of officers based outside London was something they needed to change but the lack of progress since then concerns me.

“I think that the service to Londoners provided by the Metropolitan Police Service – and our community’s confidence in that service – would be improved if more borough police officers were drawn from and lived within the areas they serve.”

The Met introduced a residency requirement in August 2014 meaning recruits must have lived in London for three out of the last six years.

Despite this, the number of officers living in the capital has risen by just one per cent.

A Met spokesman said: “We are attracting sufficient officers from inside London to meet our recruitment needs.

“We recognise that Londoners have the knowledge and understanding of local issues, the diverse range of communities and an inbuilt insight into London’s varied cultures.”

Fifty-five and 50 per cent of Richmond and Sutton officers, respectively, live in London.