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Fury at Sir Ian Blair’s £1m pot of gold
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent10.11.08
SIR Ian Blair is to get a pay-off worth £1million, it was revealed today.
He is to be paid a lump sum of £295,000 - the amount he would have earned if he had remained in charge of the Met until February 2010 when his contract was due to expire.
This will be topped up with £100,000 which includes perks and bonuses he could have collected as Commissioner. The bonuses are for cutting crime and boosting ethnic diversity. Sir Ian is also entitled to a payment of £672,000 if he takes the full lump sum payment he is entitled to - four times his final salary pension of £168,000.
The deal was described by one MP as "absurd" and by another as "ridiculous". It includes a four per cent annual pay rise plus travel and accommodation allowances.
After February 2010, Sir Ian, 55, is due his index-linked pension, although if he takes the full lump sum up front this will dramatically reduce his regular pension payments.
The package was agreed in secret by the Metropolitan Police Authority last week. It was approved by Mayor Boris Johnson's deputy for policing Kit Malthouse.
Sir Ian quit the Met last month after the Mayor took control of the MPA and told the Commissioner he wanted to see a change of leadership. He steps down officially on 1 December.
His deputy Sir Paul Stephenson will run the force while a new Commissioner is chosen. Sir Ian is expected to face renewed criticism after the inquest into the police shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
This week the police authority is also expected to agree a £300,000 settlement with Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur over his racial
discrimination case against the Met.
Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: “While people struggle to make ends meet, Sir Ian Blair is walking away with a small fortune.”
Conservative MP David Davies, who sits on the home affairs select committee, said: “It's completely absurd. If somebody resigns they should not be able to carry on claiming their salary plus all the perks and bonuses. If
everyone was able to do that then many people would resign their jobs immediately and carry on cashing in.”
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: “It's surely ridiculous to pay extra bonuses for a period when he will not be the Metropolitan Police Commissioner.”
Reader views (59)
He is a personal friend and gave me a good contract with the MET. Leave him alone he has had enough stress.
- Mario Ruffy, wanstead england
Normally I would condemn this sort of pay off. However, Sir Ian could have sued for constructive dismissal as Buffoon left him no other option. The recent cancellations of major public transport projects show that Boris knee jerks rather than thinks!
- Conspiracy Theorist, London
staggering utterly staggering. a pay off for being a liar and an incompetent. he should be stripped of his knighthood. this is one of the many reasons why labour will lose the next election.
- Josh, london
He deserved more! He has done wonders for London and Welsh Divesity
- Jonathan Clinch, Enfield
Obscene.
- P I Staker, London
dear/sir/madam this money could have gone in to the national health mind you it is great britain look after number one they dont care for the public in the uk when it is voting time in the uk you will not see a turn out like you saw in the u s a eariler in the week the people in the u s a get bett looked after that is why they follow there covermement yours sincerley graham john gomersall freeman
- Graham John Gomersall Freeman, hull yorkshire
A bonus for "cutting crime"? I thought that was his job! Do I detect a handshake with whoever agreed his contrat?
- David Chown, bordeaux france
He doesn't deserve this - but deserve's got nothing to do with it!
- Harry Houdini, London, Ontario.
Yet another grossly overpaid useless civil servant with their snout in the Nu Labour trough
- Joannie, London, England
Its all bonkers Boris's fault, encourages Blair to resign and us tax payers pick up the bill,including Blairs £100,000 bonus for fiddling the crime figures.The sooner Johnson is booted out of office the better.
- James Hennessy, london england
Boris has admitted to seeking no legal advice before getting rid of Blair, and it appears he didn't consult 99% of the MPA either
Nobody to blame for this other than Boris I'm afraid.
- Prj45, London
Those blaming Boris for this do understand how contracts work, right? I'm not saying it's a good thing for Blair to be paid, and particularly not under the circumstances under which he left. But it would almost certainly be in his contract when he joined that he would receive substantial compensation/redundancy pay, even if he quit. This is pretty standard for 'civil servant' contracts. The meeting with Boris's people last week would simply be to iron out the precise numbers. Again, it's not right, but it's not Boris's fault in any capacity. Do you not remember when that woman from Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust resigned after the C-Diff outbreak? She resigned in disgrace, and with blood on her hands. She had to get a chunky payout because it was in her contract. Obviously such contracts need looking at in the future, but to blame Boris Johnson for this is madness.
- David, Kent, UK
From the "increasing diversity bonus" one should deduct the £300,000 just paid to the guy who did not think to much of the diversity practised by the force.
- Ciccio, Toronto, Canada.
Ignore Blair...just look at what the police who report 'sick' are costing.
- Bernard Lawson, London
Give it to him - He deserves better!
- Drew Byrne, Esq., Ealing, Middlesex.
Blair should have been sacked on the spot after Menezes' murder. Instead he gets paid off for being incompetent.
- David, London
Blair was a political appointee of the Labour Party and Boris is just sweeping the stable clean. Get real... what ye sow, so shall ye reap!
- Mark, Whitstable UK
How on earth can he be paid bonuses for work he hasn't done? This is the economics of the madhouse, for sure.
- Helene Davidson, London
I thought he resigned. The UK is becoming one of the poorest countries in the EU. It is time we stopped giving throwing cash at failed civil servants. It is criminal.
- Brian Edmonds, Farnham UK
How ridiculous to blame Boris. He made the right decision and Blair's pension entitlements did not, quite rightly, have any bearing on the matter.
- Paul, Essex
The man resigned, why should he get any compensation whatsoever?
- Watson, London UK
A bonus for cutting crime rates, does this include the huge upward revision of violent crime announced last week? Or did teflon Blair manage to sneak his deal in before that one? Boris fired him because he had become a public embarrassment and lost the respect of his force. I agree with all the comments regarding the poor policing London gets, hopefully Boris is looking for ways to get more value as he has in other areas so far.
- Mark, London
I seem to remember he was forced out of office by bozo the clown? Good luck sir Ian, he who laughs last laughs longest. And if city bankers get millions in pay offs well why not are top cop? And any body else come to that.
- Kev, London
One supposes the government thinks Commissioner Blair has too many secrets under his arm to antagonise him further, and the sums mentioned are worth his silence. But for how long as if he is true to form with other celebrities his biography is probably now with the printers.
- Robert El-Cid,, Hull, East Yorks.,
What.................. including accomodation and travelling expenses......... Presumably he has produced the recipts. this is a mad house I live in
- Tony, Eastbourne ast Sussex
What.................. including accomodation and travelling expenses......... Presumably he has produced the recipts. this is a mad house I live in
- Tony, Eastbourne ast Sussex
It would have been worth ten times that to see the back of that charlatan. Good riddance.
- Derek, London
This country needs a serious protest. We should take example of how the French do it.
- Serox, London
He only resigned because Boris Johnson made his position untenable - if he had been working with a reasonable person rather than a bully then he would have completed his contract. The person to blame is Boris.
- Andy, London
Another fine mess Boris has got us in.
Perhaps Sir Ian Blair should have not resigned and just said he would leave in 2010 thus making leaving it to Boris Johnson to show whether he could work with him.
Afterall Boris is only a Journalist doing a part time job as Mayor for a few years while Sir Ian Blair has spent his whole career in the police someone Boris felt he could not dictate to I suppose.
We will have to see how Boris gets on with the new commissioner when they are appointed by the home secretary!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
BoJo the clown's office should pay this, since he effectively sacked him before his contract expired.
- Olly, South London, UK.
Of all the high grossly paid fat cats (bank scum etc) I think he more than any of the others deserves it.....Be it a lot smaller than the norm payoff these days...At least he didnt bring the economy down to its knees.
He had to stand down etc and what is he supposed to do after his last job???? He hasnt taken his final payment so why tell it that way?...
After all, he was trying to protect the public and his subordinates made a mistake, get over it!!!
- Dean, London
Try to see this from his point of view. He must be seething and shame-faced with embarrassment. Now everyone knows he is worth less than a sixth of Jonathan Ross.
- Bloke, London
And there was me thinking the Police were struggling financially!
- Ken Joralemon, London, UK
Direct your anger at Mt.Boris Johnson. He and he alone decided to get rid of Mr.Ian Blair in a inelegant manner so that he may be able to appoint a Tory friendly police officer.
- Martin, London
So Teflon Blair is to get a cool million, maybe just maybe he could do the right thing and give it to Jean Charles De Menezes family.
- Mr.S.Port, London
I live in East London. In the past 5 years, I only ever see policemen speeding by in a patrol car or arriving at high speed at the all-night diner nearby. Someone tried to break down my front door one night 2 years ago. The police promised someone would follow up "shortly" - still waiting. A neighbour has been burgled 6 times in 2 years. She hasn't bothered reporting the last twice, owing to the police not bothering to attend - even when she was threatened with a knife. I keep reading about PCSOs but have never seen one. Do they really exist, or do people just think they've seen them?
- Anne, London, London, UK
This will be topped up with £100,000 which includes perks and bonuses he could have collected as Commissioner. The bonuses are for cutting crime and boosting ethnic diversity. WHY?
Another fiddle, bonus for a bad job, scrounging off the Public.
- Mack, Hampshire
clearly some people are quick to comment without even the basic facts. He was forced out of the job, resigned to make it easier for Boris...he did not run away, he had a contract till 2010 which he was more than happy to fulfil - why is this a news-worthy issue?
- Martin_Clerkenwell, london
Er what for? killing innocent people and presiding over a huge rise in crime?? i should join the police !
- Jamie, london
£400k pay-off and £168k a year. Add that to the £300k to Ghaffur and all the other racist claim pay-outs (Verdi and the like) despite the Met saying it has no case to answer and that's about a million quid that the people of London will not see put into fighting the horrendous knife-crime situation that exists. I'm so glad I no longer live and work in London - as an after-thought can everyone who resigns from the Met claim a hand-out of this proportion? I am sure old ladies too frightened to go out of their front doors at night will see this as money really well spent.
- Keith, Ipswich United Kingdom
Never mind the public sector Paul,its disgusting any fat cat receive this sum,it's high time they were forced onto a strict diet.
- William, Selsdon
If Londoners believe the 'contractual' payout to Blair is a farce then the £300,000 proposed payout to Tarique Ghaffur is an absolute disgrace. At least Blair is 'entitled' to his cash under his contract.
- Pete, Croydon Uk
Not one person on these comments has even uttered how terrible London is!! I live in a London Borough and I DO NOT see police patrolling. We still have high crime in our area (of London).
- Sal, LONDON
This is the apostrophe police: if you don't know how to punctuate, don't flaunt the fact to 8 million Londoners.
- Neil, london uk, Airstrip ONE .
Seem to remember that buffoon Boris forced Sir Ian Blair out a job he seemed to love. No-one deserves a huge pay-off, everyone else just gets their pension/benefits. But if the thieving hedge-fund managers are still to get million-pound bonuses, then I think Blair, with the contribtution he made to society, is far more deserving than they.
- Sue, Essex
I think it is disgusting that anyone in the public sector is getting £168,000 a year pension. This is ridiculous sum of money for the tax payer to be handing out each year. It seems becoming the Police Commissioner is on a pair with winning the lottery. The government state pension is £87.30 a week, that’s only 4190.40 a year! How the government can then justify a £400,000 payoff on top of that I don’t know. I would have thought Blair’s windfall is a slap in the face for every pensioner in the country.
- Paul, London
Its a tidy sum to keep him quiet. He did reduce crime overall. But he didn't take responsibility for Memeneze shooting, which he should have done, and quit.
- Dhanraj, Basildon Essex
I do not support this man getting such a ridiculous pay off. However, it's interesting the number of comments on this site from people who don't live in London about how terrible everything is here. I live in a crime hotspot and, yes, under this bloke you do see more police and other support officers on the streets and it is safer than it used to be- fewer burglaries, car crime etc than there used to be. Teenage violence against other teenagers is getting worse and it is serious but crime is falling generally and you can see it if you live here in London.
So, don't pay him this stupid bonus for not being in his job anymore, but people in France and from up north should stop telling us how terrible London is because it's not true.
- Saunaing Tic Gill, LONDON - please note - LONDON
He didn't fail in his job Boris just didn't like him so he had no choice but to leave I hope he gets every penny he is entitled too.
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford England
Only low paid worker's pay increase's add to increase's in inflation, huge payout's to people like Blair do not.
- Raymond, London
"cutting crime" ? - I'm sorry, has ANYONE noticed a difference? Ineptitude and self-glorification appear to have helped yet another Blair succeed against all common-sense ... and yet again the tax-payer is stitched up.
- Marianne, SW France
This is an outrageous amount of money to pay the man who has done more damage to policing in Britain than any other since Bob Peel started the first properly organised force.
- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster
I don;t agree with rewarding failure but every comment so far seems to forget that if that is the terms of his contract then that's what he gets. Don't cry because your contract does not have the same pay out as his.
And yes I do get a pay out if I was to quit before my contract expires. I made a point of negotiating it.
- Stuart, Luton, UK
Yet another example of the rewards for abject failure.
- Inoff The Red, London UK
"Sir Ian quit the Met suddenly last month"
Hmmm, maybe if I quit my job my employer will give me pay until 2010 plus any accrued bonuses, after that I'll cure cancer and go for a spin in my faster than light spacecraft.
- Bob, Cheam
This exhorbitant paymnet package to Ian Blair, who chose to resign under a cloud, is a disgrace! To award this man of all people a possible lost bonus "for boosting ethnic diversity" is a bad joke. And to pay him perks for travel and accomodation expenses he never incurred adds insult to injury. Revoke this cloud cuckoo land decision before it is too late!
- Tom Mackinnon, Putney, London
So reward for failure is not just confined to the private sector!
- Ab, London
For crying out loud he chose to quit - so why the payoff? Wish the rest of us could quit and get similar payoofs .... NOT!
- Vij, London
