The planned national unit to coordinate the fight against electronic crime will need a £4.5 million annual budget, it was announced today.

But where the funding will come from is not certain. It is expected that the private sector will match any money put up by the government,  but the Home Office is yet to make a formal commitment.

The central e-crime unit, to be run as part of London's Metropolitan Police, will focus on online fraud and also act as a liaison between local forces, businesses and other law enforcement agencies.

Metropolitan Police Commander Sue Wilkinson says the team will be composed of a mixture of police officers, analysts, academics and IT specialists.

'Agreement has been reached in principle from the Association of Chief Police Officers, The Home Office and The Met that the E-Crime unit should go ahead,' said Wilkinson.

'We are now working through the logistics in order to implement it, including seeking funding and resources,' she said.

The National Hi-tech Crime Unit, which became the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) e-crime unit in April 2006, was funded to the tune of £25m annually. The new unit aims to plug the much-publicised gap in e-crime policing created by the demise of the old national agency.