Defiant Sir Ian defends his 'gaffes'

Speaking on his last day in office he said he was "proud" of his comments about Soham when he said he did not understand the fuss about the schoolgirls' murders.

He said: "The Soham reference was wrong. Unnecessary. But I'm actually proud of the fact that I drew attention to the fact the murder of young black people is not as important as the murder of young white people as an average.

"Of course there are certain differences, Damilola and so on, but I have had people walking up to me ever since I said that comment, black and minority people, off the street, in restaurants, saying thank goodness somebody had the courage to say that. So sometimes you have to say some things." Sir Ian, who was forced out of office last month by Mayor Boris Johnson, became known for a string of gaffes during his four years in office, including his admission that he had secretly tape-recorded the Attorney General.

He admitted in his last interview that he became more guarded after his public comments provoked controversy.

"Well I don't think I have learned a lesson in a way. I think I'm just a person who has been massively in the public eye.

"And so that if out of the thousands and thousands of column inches that have been written about me, there are three or four things that I've said wrong, well OK, but I'm not superhuman."

Sir Ian declared that running the £3.5billion organisation of 50,000 employees had been "99 per cent enjoyable". But he accepted many will focus on the other one per cent, including the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, the bungled Forest Gate anti-terror raids and the apparent gaffes. He said crime had fallen by almost a fifth during his 46 months in charge, with significant reductions in violent crime and murders. He said the Met's response to the July 2005 attacks was one of his proudest moments and he considered Mr de Menezes the 53rd victim of the terrorists. He said he remained "dreadfully sorry" for the death of the Brazilian electrician, but insisted he did not know an innocent man was dead until almost 24 hours after the shooting.

The Commissioner warned that his successor will not only have to battle the threat of terrorism and rising teenage murders, but also the politicisation of policing - for which he himself has been blamed. He admitted the upper reaches of Britain's largest force have "got a bit like politics", with one side briefing against the other.

He said any successor must be careful to tell the Mayor how they expected to run the force. He said candidates should be clear where they stand and tell the Mayor "if you don't want that, don't choose me".

Sir Ian said two decades ago high-profile police incidents were once treated as a matter for senior officers alone.

"That has changed out of all recognition because crime is so significant. I think what we need is both of the major parties to give the police a bit more breathing room and recognise how extraordinary the achievements are.

"An unarmed service, reducing crime at a rate that has never been seen before, with public confidence going up, battling terror at one end and anti-social behaviour at the other. Now those are the areas we want to be concentrating on, not specific events, specific failures. The Met, for instance, has over the years I have been in it, had its occasional disasters. That is the business we are in."

Sir Ian's comments came after he blasted Mr Johnson for forcing him to resign. He said standing down was the "only honourable course", despite retaining the support of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith. Asked about his relationship with Mr Johnson, Sir Ian said: "I don't see myself as a victim. I don't see him as a villain. I just see this as there comes a moment when you have to take hard choices. I don't think anybody who has seen my last four years would regard me as trying to find easy ways out of anything."

In his final days in office, Sir Ian returned to Savile Row police station, where he began his career 34 years ago. Walking through Soho he said the area was "much rougher" in the early Seventies but officers today were more concerned about guns and knives.

Sir Ian remembered how he was once attacked by a machete-wielding man in a Wembley cell, but said the worst he could normally expect on patrol was a "thump on the nose".

Sir Ian said: "I think some of Life On Mars is pretty accurate and one of the things I reflect on is that, 35 years on, this service is unrecognisable from the service that I joined. It's a much better service. It's much better for the people of Britain."

Speaking about diversity, Sir Ian said the Met had made "extraordinary strides" since the death of Stephen Lawrence in 1993. He said a boycott of ethnic recruitment by the Black Police Association left him "saddened" but he was pleased Tarique Ghaffur withdrew claims of racism against him.

Asked if the Met would finally bring charges against those suspected of killing Mr Lawrence, he said: "The case is not closed, that is all I can say. They should be worried that we will pursue them to the ends of their lives."