Sir Ian Blair: hoist with own petard

Following the row about the suspension of his third-in-command, Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, the head of diversity for the Met, Yasmin Rehman, is to file a claim with a London Employment Tribunal claiming she has been subjected to racist intimidation. Sir Ian may well have to weather Lady Bracknell-style jokes about his carelessness in keeping his ethnic minority staff but these cases — even though Ms Rehman does not mention him personally — undermine his authority.

For many of his critics, all this is richly ironic, given Sir Ian's reputation for political correctness. But that is precisely the point — the charge of racism cannot be reconciled with everything he has done and said on this subject. Indeed, those critics who felt that he made promotions within the force on the basis of race may now conclude that he is being brought low by the consequences of his own policies. The suspension of his Assistant Commissioner seems justifiable not so much because Mr Ghaffur briefed the media as he did but that it would have been near-impossible for the Assistant Commissioner to have carried on with his duties as normal, including board meetings with Sir Ian, without the case adversely affecting the way the business of the Met is conducted.

As a result of these cases, the Met, at least temporarily, has lost the services of a respected Assistant Commissioner and, at a lower level, that of Ms Rehman, who has led attempts to address problems such as forced marriages. More seriously, cases like these may actually sour relations between police officers of different backgrounds. Sir Ian is facing continuing fallout from the far more serious matter of the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes; these latest arguments cannot help his position. More seriously, they are a distraction from the Met's real business, policing London effectively — and Londoners of all ethnicities will be the losers.

Sport for all

ANDY Burnham, the Culture Secretary, has, in response to this paper's 2012 sports legacy campaign, promised that no fewer than a million more people will play competitive sport as a result of the Olympics. What is more, he has committed himself personally to delivering that target. In an interview with this paper, he promises to promote traditional clubs, competitions and coaching — in particular, he wants greater resources devoted to paying teachers to engage in after-hours sports training.

There is a class divide in terms of school sport, whereby private schools not only encourage competitive sports but have teachers who will coach pupils out of hours. By contrast, in some state schools there is a residual suspicion of competitive sport per se; more seriously, many have difficulties getting teachers to engage in sporting activities on Saturdays and after school. Yet children in the poorest schools are precisely those who could profit most from team and competitive sports. And, as Mr Burnham points out, proper coaching is indispensable for cricket and tennis. Mr Burnham has a formidable task and not much time to engage with all the local authorities, national institutions and the Department for Schools in delivering his objective. Now he must prove he can do so.

Park fines

THE Royal Parks authorities are seeking powers to issue spot fines for offences like littering or dog fouling which currently require a prosecution. The trouble of going through the courts often discourages wardens and police from taking action even for obvious offences. It might help if the parks' charmingly antiquated by-laws sign boards highlight the possibility of spot fines. Otherwise park users will not get the message. Used with discretion, the powers could help protect London's well-loved parks.