Morning:
9°c
The resignation of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, has created an unprecedented crisis in the policing of London - but also an opportunity. The Mayor, Boris Johnson, is today under fire for his role in the affair. Mr Johnson did not technically have the power to fire the Met chief. But the Mayor was right to act as he did.
First of all, Sir Ian's position was plainly untenable. his authority was fatally damaged. even as we await the conclusion of the inquest into the shooting in 2005 of Jean Charles de Menezes, it is clear from previous inquiries that Sir Ian had presided over a shocking catalogue of blunders that day and in its aftermath. his authority was also draining away because of the discrimination case brought by Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur, and because of accusations over personal conflicts of interest. The home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, had failed to act to end the paralysis at the top of the Met. Londoners should be happy that their Mayor was more decisive.
Second, while the power to hire and fire the Met Commissioner lies with the home Secretary, the fact that Mr Johnson flexed his muscles was simply a recognition of the reality of where power lies in London.
While Mr Johnson has acted decisively, we should not underestimate the scale of the challenge that now faces him and the Met's next Commissioner. Whether that person is Deputy Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson or someone else, London's policing is an enormously complex task. There is a particular challenge in the shape of rising knife crime. And there is the huge task of preparing for the 2012 Olympics, perhaps the Met's greatest ever single policing challenge.
Whoever is appointed, it is hard to see how Ms Smith can now ignore the Mayor's opinion. That can only draw yet more attention to the anomaly of the arrangements for appointing the Met chief. Now there may be a case for giving the Mayor control over the appointment: an elected figure would then be accountable, in a way that the home Secretary is simply not. This is the system, for example, in large American cities: it at least deserves examination, even though the issue is more complex here because of the Met chief's leading role nationally in anti-terror operations. London has lost its police chief: we want the Met to emerge from this crisis better able to keep our city safe.
Mandy's return
The return of Peter Mandelson to the Cabinet in today's reshuffle marks one of the most extraordinary resurrections of recent political history. Mr Mandelson has twice before been forced to leave the Cabinet: his appointment is a high-risk move. Nevertheless, the new Business Secretary is one of the brightest figures on the political scene and Labour has felt his absence during his time in Brussels as an EU commissioner.
Whether even as wily a figure as Mr Mandelson can turn around the Prime Minister's fortunes, along with the rest of Mr Brown's new team, is less certain. Mr Mandelson's instincts on the danger of a move to the Left are sound. Now Labour MPs fearful for their seats must hope that Mr Brown heeds his old sparring partner's advice.
America abroad
The US embassy in Grosvenor Square is to move, marking the end of a long history of American presence at the centre of the capital. Eero Saarinen's vast post-war building offered a library and free jazz concerts in the optimistic Kennedy years - but in the late 1960s Grosvenor Square became the scene of protest against the war in Vietnam. Since 9/11, it has become clear that the embassy's security needs and the interests of local residents are not compatible. The diplomats' move to Battersea is brave - it will take five years - but staying in inner London is the right decision, and we applaud it.
Reader views (3)
To John G Bojke, yes: I am the same and many of my friends and family too. We all voted Labour in 1997 but they dumped the proverbial on us. We will never vote for them again. Ever.
- Mikko Takala, Drumnadrochit, Scotland, 06/10/2008 15:00
Report abuse
Your leader on London's policing is spot on! The probability of Blair being given a peerage by Gordon Brown shows the extent of cronyism in the Labour movement. Politics should have no place in policing London. And I agree, an elected Mayor should be allowed to appoint his police chief and then be allowed to get on with policing the capital in a modernised PC49 fashion. Choose the best person for the job - not a PC choice.
- Sylvia Smith, London, UK, 03/10/2008 13:47
Report abuse
I am not a Boris or Tory fan but I have to praise Boris for doing exactly what Labour and in particular what Jacqui Smith did not have the balls to do, or was it lack of gumption?, come to think of it, could we really expect Ms Jacqui Smith to act? after all she is a Labour MP and none of them have seem to have any balls. Oh! by the way, just as a wake up call to Labour, I was as strong a Labour supporter you could ever find in this country until five years ago, I can now never see myself voting Labour again. I have joined the millions deserting Labour.
- John G Bojke, South Shields Tyne &Wear, 03/10/2008 13:20
Report abuse
