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Push to appoint new Met chief and mend split with Tories
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor23.12.08
The appointment of a new Met Police Commissioner is being fast-tracked in a desperate bid to end the leadership crisis at Scotland Yard, it emerged today.
No decision had been expected until March but the post could be filled by 30 January, according to one source.
Events have been accelerated by the outburst from counter-terrorism chief Bob Quick, who accused the Conservatives of undermining his probe into Whitehall leaks.
The new commissioner at Scotland Yard will have to mend fences quickly with the Tory party and establish a close working relationship with Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and chairman of the Met police authority.
The nine applicants to replace Sir Ian Blair have been whittled down to four: Acting Met Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson, the Chief Constable of Merseyside Bernard Hogan-Howe, Northern Ireland police chief Sir Hugh Orde, and West Midlands Police chief Sir Paul Scott-Lee. They have been told that they will be interviewed in January. Two names will be forwarded to Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who is expected to consult Mayor Johnson.
A source said: "There is no reason why the name of the next commissioner should not be known by 30 January."
Tensions between the Conservatives and the Met simmered on today after shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve suggested that Assistant Commissioner Quick should step aside from the leak inquiry that led to the arrest of Tory MP Damian Green.
Mr Quick infuriated Conservatives at the weekend when he suggested the party was behind a Mail on Sunday report exposing his wife's wedding car hire business. "I think it is a very spiteful act, possibly to intimidate me away from investigating Mr Green and I feel it has put my family at risk," he said.
After David Cameron demanded a full retraction, Mr Quick made an unreserved apology and Sir Paul Stephenson made clear last night that he believed the matter was closed.
But Mr Quick's position was still in doubt today as senior Scotland Yard sources suggested that his remarks had left the force "shellshocked". "It is damaging for his credibility and his judgment" the source said.Former senior Met officer Brian Paddick suggested Mr Quick had exposed himself to security risks by letting his wife run a business from home and put the address on the website.
Mr Green's arrest and the search of his Parliamentary offices by counter-terrorism officers plunged Scotland Yard into further turmoil after a year that included a damning inquest into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Reader views (18)
The Labour party for the first time in our history has created a politicised police service. Whenever a minister wants to make a political point they roll out there favourite police chief to back them up and have one over on the opposition.
The 42 days, they needed a policeman to support it because the country and the opposition was against it – out came a police chief. Hardly impartial.
Jacqui Smith was hiding information that should have been in the public domain. She called this information getting out a leak, as it embarrassed her. Jacqui Smith then gets the police to investigate the leak. Not any old police – the anti terror squad. A miss use by her, political interference by them.
Is it a coincidence that it was the same police chief in both instances?
The Labour Party is well on to achieving its goal of a police state, by ensuring that the men at the top spout party political points at every opportunity.
The police working for the country gone forever, the police working to keep Labour in power the new reality – only card carrying socialists need apply.
- Ian, Reading, England
Let's draw a line under all this now..! The enemy are laughing at us. The Met are at eachother's throats and our leaders are in-fighting. Bob Quick is a good guy remember.! Albeit naive in his comments.
He's made an apology, let's get on with keeping Britain and her allies sleep well at night.
Merry Xmas
P xxx
- Paul, Bromley, Kent
Nu Labor should be pulled out of the police. Police has become a laughing stock with Bean Brown's guys involved.
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London
Ah yes, good old Liberal drinker is pie eyed again and cannot see the wood for the trees. After many moons in our once respected Police Force the biggest change since its conception happened in 1997, strangely enough the same time that Nulabour raised its ugly head. Since then never has the Police been so despised, never have the released crime statistics be so bent and never has crime been so rife on our streets. Ian Blair started the link with politicians and it needs to be stopped urgently before we all lose hope and faith in an organisation which was once respected world wide.
- Roger, Letsbe Avenue, Staines
Liberal Thinker, taking aside whether the Met has been politicised, or, not, your second point is that 'The police need to work to an agenda based on crime and safety for the people of London and not politics' They clearly do not, and, fail in that integral part of their being! Government statistics tell us that crime is falling, many Londoners would disagree.(including the National Statistics Office) We do not see the police on a daily basis on our streets,(the job after all is about policing & crime prevention, or, so I thought!) so how can we have confidence in them? Statistically, I would suggest the greatest volume of communication between the Met. and, Londoners would be advice of intended speeding prosecutions. There are many similarities between the Met. police and, our prime minister, inasmuch, as that when anything goes wrong, neither are to be seen or heard! Respect has to be earned, sadly, unlike previous generations, the Mets. actions & inactions over the past decade, or so, has squandered any goodwill they may have had with Londoners!
- Kevin Sullivan, Roehampton, London.
The Met is in crisis because the Home Office, which is in theory "in charge" of it, could not run a bath, let alone a large, complex organisation such as a police 'service'. Add to this the appalling pro-Labour bias of Ian Blair's leadership and it is not surprising that every other day sees a new apology from Scotland Yard for its sheer incompetence, ranging from de Menezes, through Colin Stagg and Barry George to the current fiascos of the Damian Green affair and the mindless witterings of Bob Quick. I know of no-one who has any confidence in the Met and whoever takes over at the top will have a horrible job trying to restore a semblance of credibility to his dysfunctional force.
- Charlie Jordan, Cheam, England
OK 8 posts in...one thinks the evil tory masters of the puniverse control the saucer people who in conjunction with the Rand corporation control, blue smarties and the Metroplodican Purleece.
Seven think Nu Liebour are in bed with the Metroplodican Purleece at most levels.
Gee I guess thats what the (tory controlled) BBC (guffaw) would deem a tie or even a small majority agreeing with Liberal thunker.
- Rusty Shackleford, UK
I have no doubt that the tories HAVE been putting pressure on the Met to get the Damien Green affair dropped, but why shouldn't they - it was a trumped up charge and the Met should never have gone on a 'fishing trip' around an MP's office looking for incriminating evidence. And to call the Tories 'Corrupt' is a particularly ironic choice of words when ,if you remeber,Tony Blair was the first serving PM to be interviewed in connection with selling Peerages, and a whole bunch of them were suspected of fiddling their Deputy Leader election expenses, corrupt or what?
- Jeremiah, London
"I believe we need to congratulate the Tories, they have set out to politicise the Met police and have succeeded.
Liberal Thinker, UK"
Someone else that has been living under a rock for the past 10 years or so. Clearly you have never tried to organise a demonstration near Parliament in recent years, or been turned back, by the police, from a perfectly legal demonstration by police, where no law has been broke or they've had no reason to suspect so...just because. You have to wonder why.
- Md, London, UK
It seems all Nu-Labor police force appointees are not really much force. If they are just bureaucrats and don't catch criminals they they should be made redundant. I am tired of our worsening policing in this coountry!!
- Jacqueline, Hampstead, London
Unfortunately the Met leadership politicised itself when it supported the Government's controversial 90 day / 42 day detention proposals. Unless these had cross party support, senior officers should never have intervened publicly and thus taken sides in a political debate. From that moment on the current situation was inevitable, and that is why Ian Blair had to go.
- John, London
Liberal Thinker, UK - What planet are you on. The Met has been politicised by the current government, putting people into leadership posts who are clearly biased towards the left, using Ian Blair to support goernment policy on 42 days etc. Remember it was Bob Quick who made a totally unfounded claim, without any evidence to support it,that the Tories were behind the Mail on Sunday article. Why make that assumption if he wasn't biased. He cannot continue to oversee the Green enquiry having shown his true 'colours' in such an unprofessional manner.
- Malcolm, London
Liberal Thinker, I believe you ought to think again! Sir (sic) Ian Blair politicised the police with his lobbying of MPs, allowing his police cars to carry labour banners, etc, etc, etc. I am not a tory but I believe that the tories are trying to give us back an independent MET and and independent Civil Service.
- Dave, Pontypridd
Liberal thinker? You mean Nu-Lab apologist! Who do you think has politicised the Police? The dreadful Broon has been in charge for 11 long years, with his accomplice T Bliar, and under their watch the police in general, and the Met in particular have been bought and paid for. Name the successfull prosecutions against Labour MPs who have broken the law.
Grow up!
- 45govt, Barbados
the met was politisised already with blair and quick supporting labour government policies that were pposed by the conservative and liberal opposition.
Another met insider as commissioner would just perpetuate this politisisation and it needs an outsider to clean up this very dysfuntional heap of egos
- John Lowe, london
"they have set out to politicise the Met police and have succeeded."
Hilarious! Who has been running the country for the past decade? What is ACPO if not a politicised body?
- Chuck Unsworth, London
Dear liberal drinker. I can only but think an excess of seasonal cheer has occasioned your astonishing comment. The Labour Home Office calls the tune and the Met dances to that tune. When the useless Home Sec refers to Mr Quick in interviews as Bob it does imply a familiarity does it not? What about Sir Ian Blair? He was so Nu Labour that Met cars were reportedly carrrying vote labour stickers! Is that Tory enough for you? Face it Mr Drinker the Met are so imbued with Nu Labour placemen it's going to take radical pruning to restore any sense of impartiality if it's even possible. Ditto the civil service - they again have been politicised by the worst government in living memory. Ask Damian Green how he enjoyed having Anti Terrorist Police rooting through his smalls at 3am. Was he part of your right wing conspiracy? Perhaps a tin foil hat would help clarify the 'great right wing conspiracy' theory of yours?
Is it the tories who are introducing curbs on our civil liberties like ID cards and snoopers databases to control all of us? Who seek to lock people up for 42 (no 90 no insert big number)of days but can't even seem to deport undesirables like Hooky? No I think you must be under the influence when you penned your comment.
- Rusty Shackleford, UK
I believe we need to congratulate the Tories, they have set out to politicise the Met police and have succeeded.
So, as this is now the case you are going to have to put up with senior officer opinions and like it.
The Police should not be a political force, this is very very dangerous. The Police need to work to an agenda based on crime and safety for the people of London and not politics.
So now for the next Tory challenge, how to exit gracefully.
- Liberal Thinker, UK
