Dame Cressida Dick To Leave Role As Head Of Met Police As London Mayor ‘Loses Confidence In Her’

Dame Cressida Dick is leaving her role as head of the Met Police with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan saying it's clear "the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top".

Sadiq Khan put the Met Police Commissioner "on notice" last week after the police watchdog published messages sent by officers that used sexist, racist and homophobic language.

He said his entire trust in the Met hinged on her coming up with a robust plan for dealing with the behaviour.

But he said he was "not satisfied" with the commissioner's response and in a statement on Thursday evening said: "On being informed of this, Dame Cressida Dick has said she will be standing aside.

"It's clear that the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the Metropolitan Police."

Dame Cressida said she felt she had "no choice" but it was "with great sadness" she was stepping down.

"It is clear that the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue," she said.

"He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service."

She added: "The murder of Sarah Everard and many other awful cases recently have, I know, damaged confidence in this fantastic police service."

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said he believed Dame Cressida had been treated in a "wholly unfair" way and and that she was "much loved across the rank and file of the Metropolitan Police Service".

He said: "We feel the way she has been treated is wholly unfair and we did believe that she was the person who could take us through this and bring us out the other side."

It has been agreed Dame Cressida will continue to serve for a short period to enable an orderly handover.

Following the announcement, Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked her for "protecting the public and making our streets safer".

He added: "Dame Cressida has served her country with great dedication and distinction over many decades."

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who told a committee of MPs a "failure of leadership" had resulted in the offensive messages being exchanged by a group of police officers at Charing Cross station, paid tribute to the outgoing commissioner.

She said: "She would be the first to say that she has held the role during challenging times; yet for nearly five years she has undertaken her duties with a steadfast dedication to protecting our capital city and its people, including during the unprecedented period of the pandemic."

Mr Khan said he would begin working with Ms Patel on the appointment of a new commissioner so that "we can move quickly to restore trust in the capital's police service while keeping London safe".
Her resignation comes following a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, and the exchange of racist, misogynist and homophobic messages by officers at Charing Cross Police Station.

Earlier on Thursday, when asked by the BBC if she should step down, she said: "I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and have been, actually for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the Met."

In her full statement she said serving the people of London had been "the greatest honour and privilege of my life".