Met 'seething' over chief's refusal to quit

Liberal Democrat leadership contender Nick Clegg said: "The Met is now seething with resentment... that politics is overshadowing their day-today job.

"I'm not interested in the preservation of his personal pride, I am interested in having a Met that is not overshadowed every day by discussions about his position."

Shadow attorney general Dominic Grieve also urged the Home Secretary to step in because Sir Ian had failed to follow the "honourable" example of HM Revenue and Customs chief Paul Gray who quit over the data fiasco.

Members of the Metropolitan Police Authority, the body that oversees the force, were expected to put forward a vote of no confidence in Sir Ian at an emergency meeting this morning.

The Commissioner was expected to survive the vote but at least seven members of the 23-strong group were prepared to call for him to go.

At the same time, a think-tank with close links to Gordon Brown called for control over London's policing to be taken from the MPA and handed over to local councils. A report accused the MPA of failing in one of its key duties - holding Sir Ian to account.

In his most scathing intervention to date, Mr Clegg said: "Ken Livingstone and Jacqui Smith have dragged their heels in a complete abdication of political responsibility and a complete failure of imagination.

"I cannot for the life of me understand why Ken Livingstone and Jacqui Smith cannot see that you have to have accountability to be seen to be working. If that kind of thing happened in a business the chief executive would be out on their ear overnight. If that kind of thing happened in a political party the leader would resign overnight."

Mr Grieve raised fresh questions over the Home Office's role in the aftermath of the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. In a letter to Police Minister Tony McNulty, he demanded to know why it took three days to call in the Independent Police Complaints Commission to probe the shooting.

Home Office permanent secretary Sir John Gieve had warned Sir Ian on Friday 22 July 2005 - the day of the shooting - that he could not unilaterally suspend the Act that requires their involvement within a day, yet the IPCC was not formally involved until Monday 25 July.

It appears that the Home Office is relying on a technicality that the law states that the independent body has to be drafted into police shooting cases by the end of the next working day.

The Tories say the three-day delay allowed a police logbook to be doctored, statements to be prepared collectively by police officers which should have been given separately and left uncertainty as to whether or not more

CCTV evidence might have been available if secured earlier. Former deputy assistant commissioner Brian Paddick added to the criticism, calling for Sir Ian to be replaced by Northern Ireland's chief constable Sir Hugh Orde. Mr Paddick told newstatesman.com: "Blair's not having any impact at all. In fact, he's making things worse".

Meanwhile, a report by think-tank New Local Government Network found that almost 50 per cent of Londoners feel the police are out of touch with local concerns. It believes the solution is to replace the MPA with a new body, made up of the 33 council leaders. The report also recommends that the Mayor should have less power to appoint chief constables and set the police budget.

Critics suspect that Labour members on the MPA will use their influence to keep Sir Ian in office, despite the London Assembly passing a vote of noconfidence.

The report - Your Police or Mine - concludes: "A complaint too common among members of many communities is that the police are not responding to their concerns, targeting the wrong areas and failing to understand the needs of local areas."

A spokesman for the MPA said: "The MPA acknowledges there is scope for greater borough council involvement. However, we firmly believe that police authorities, combining the experience of elected representatives and members of local communities, are the most effective way to hold a police service to account."