Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick quits job as Sadiq Khan loses ‘trust’ in her | UK News

Dame Cressida Dick is stepping down as Met Police Chief with London Mayor Sadiq Khan, saying it’s clear that ‘the only way to start delivering the scale of change required is to have new leadership while high”.

Mr Khan issued a ‘warning’ to the Met Police Commissioner last week after the police watchdog published messages sent by officers that used sexist, racist and homophobic language.

He expressed his full confidence in the Encounter depended on her develop a solid plan to deal with the behavior.

But he said he was ‘unhappy’ with the commissioner’s response and in a statement on Thursday evening said: ‘Upon being advised of this, Dame Cressida Dick said she would step down.

‘Clearly the only way to begin to deliver the scale of change required is to have new leadership at the top of the Metropolitan Police.’

It is understood that Mr Khan had summoned the commissioner for a meeting at 4.30pm on Thursday.

However, she did not attend – tendering her resignation instead.

Later, Dame Cressida said she felt she had “no choice” but it was “with great sadness” that she was stepping down.

“Clearly the mayor no longer has enough faith in my leadership to continue,” she said.

“He left me no choice but to step down as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.”

She added: “The murder of Sarah Everard and many other horrific cases recently have, I know, undermined confidence in this fantastic police service.”

Ken Marsh, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, said he believed Dame Cressida had been treated “totally unfair” and was “much loved on the base of the Metropolitan Police Service”.

He said: “We think the way she was treated is totally unfair and we thought she was the person who could get us through this and get us out the other side.”

It has been agreed that Dame Cressida will continue to serve for a short period to allow for an orderly transfer.

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

He added: “Dame Cressida served her country with great dedication and distinction for many decades.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel, who told a committee of MPs that a ‘failure of leadership’ led to a group of police officers exchanging offensive messages at Charing Cross station, paid tribute to the outgoing commissioner .

She said: “She would be the first to say that she served in this role during difficult times; yet, for almost five years, she carried out her duties with an unwavering dedication to the protection of our capital and its people. , including during the unprecedented time of the pandemic.”

Mayor of London to work with Home Secretary on new appointment

Mr Khan said he would start working with Ms Patel on the appointment of a new commissioner so ‘we can move quickly to restore confidence in the capital’s policing while keeping London safe’.

His resignation follows a series of scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens and the exchange of racist, misogynistic and homophobic messages by officers at Charing Cross police station.

Earlier on Thursday, when asked by the BBC whether she should quit, she said: ‘I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe I am and have been, in fact for the last five years, at the leading a real transformation in the Met.”

In her full statement, she said serving the people of London has been “the greatest honor and privilege of my life”.

Campaign group Reclaim These Streets, which is taking legal action against the force over its handling of a Sarah Everard vigil, simply tweeted: ‘Good Riddance’.

Patsy Stevenson, who was arrested at the vigil, said she was delighted Dame Cressida was gone.

She told Sky News: “I think what we need to focus on is that it’s not a token gesture.

“It doesn’t solve anything and I just hope the next manager understands that a drastic change needs to be implemented.”

Former Met Police Superintendent Leroy Logan told Sky News: ‘I really thought (Dame Cressida) was going to bring real ethical leadership, a real understanding of accountability and transparency, not duplicating what happened.

“But in the end, we saw that she was saying she didn’t recognize institutional sexism, she didn’t recognize institutional racism, and in fact she started to become like a blocker – she was part of the problem, not of the solution.”

Alastair Morgan, who has spent decades campaigning for justice for his brother Daniel, who was killed with an ax in a pub car park in Sydenham, southeast London, in the 1980s, said Dame Cressida had “disappointed” her family on every level.

Speaking to the PA news agency, he said: “The first time I dealt with Cressida Dick was in 2012 and since then everything she has done in relation to my family has only delayed, obstructed and disappointed on a huge level.

“Although I find it unfortunate that we see another commissioner disappear under a cloud of smoke, it is necessary.

“My only concern now is who will replace her and deal with the huge job ahead of them to restore confidence in the Met.”

Ricky Waumsley, whose partner Daniel Whitworth was murdered by serial killer Stephen Port, also welcomed Dame Cressida’s resignation.

Mr Waumsley told the PA news agency that his first thought when he heard the news was “about time” and that he hoped more resignations would follow.

“She had clung to that position so much when all around her the officers she was in charge of were racist, homophobic and sexist,” he said.

Last year an inquest jury found that police failures likely contributed to the death of Mr Whitworth and those of two other Port victims.