THERESA May has been accused of dragging her feet over plans to hire 1,900 extra spies.
The PM vowed to boost staffing levels at MI5, MI6 and the GCHQ listening centre to protect Brits from terrorists in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.
But official figures suggest the government will be 400 short of the target by the time of the next general election.
And the deadline for the recruitment drive has been quietly pushed back a year.
The pledge to boost security staff was made by David Cameron 14 months ago after terrorists killed 129 people in Paris.
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Mrs May, who was Home Secretary at the time, made clear the extra security and intelligence teams would be in place by 2020.
But in its annual review of the National Security strategy, the government has slipped out that it will now be 2021.
Labour seized on the report to accuse ministers of falling short of their trarget.
Shadow home affairs minister Lyn Brown said: “The first duty of any government must be the safety and security of British people at home and abroad.
“Last year, the Tories were clear that they would hire 1,900 extra spooks by the end of this Parliament. Now it appears they will only hire 1,500 and a year later than promised.
“Rather than simply making announcements to generate headlines, Theresa May needs to ensure our security services get the resources they need to protect the British people.”
Last night the government insisted it was on track to hire and train the extra spies by early 2021.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “The UK’s security services are the finest in the world and work tirelessly to protect us.
“We need to make sure they stay one step ahead of those who would do us harm, which is why we are investing an extra £2.5billion over the next five years to build an even better security network to protect the UK.”
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