Afternoon:
8°c
WHATEVER the result of today's interviews for a new Metropolitan Police Commissioner to succeed Sir Ian Blair, London will get an able, experienced and highly competent police chief. Both candidates, Sir Paul Stephenson, the deputy Commissioner, and Sir Hugh Orde, the chief constable of Northern Ireland, have long and distinguished careers; both have experience of working at the top of the Met, and both would focus on the policing priorities of Londoners. One of those priorities, tackling gang violence, was brought into grim focus this weekend with the knife murder of a teenage boy and the shooting of another.
The final interview will be conducted by the Home Secretary, Jacqui Smith, and the London Mayor, Boris Johnson, although it will be the Home Secretary who has the final say. It would be a happy outcome if they agreed on a candidate. The problems that can arise if the Home Secretary and Mayor take conflicting views were illustrated with Sir Ian Blair, who had the blessing of the previous mayor, Ken Livingstone, and the Home Secretary but did not have the confidence of Mr Johnson. It would not be in the interests of the capital if the role of Commissioner became unduly politicised, appointed by one party, dismissed by another. The candidate can only be appointed by the Home Secretary but can only operate effectively with the support of the Mayor. Ms Smith has already said that she hopes this appointment will be unanimous.
The candidates are evenly matched, in terms of long experience and counter-terrorism records. Both, too, have an element of controversy in their records. Sir Paul has the problem of being associated with the regime of Sir Ian Blair, whose deputy he was. More seriously, his judgment was questioned after he approved the heavy-handed operation against the shadow immigration minister Damian Green. Sir Hugh was involved in controversy when his affair with an undercover detective at the Met was publicised.
On balance, we believe a candidate with a fresh approach and political acuity would be welcome in London; on that basis, Sir Hugh has the edge.
BBC's dilemma
THE BBC Director-General, Mark Thompson, gave every impression of being very uncomfortable indeed when he was cross-questioned this morning about his decision not to screen the Gaza appeal by the Disasters and Emergencies Committee, the DEC. With good reason: his decision, which has been replicated by Sky News, has been criticised by a coalition of cross-party MPs, bishops, ordinary people and charity representatives. Yet he stuck to his guns, saying that this was a highly political conflict, and the impartiality of the Corporation must be maintained right across its broadcasts, not merely in the news broadcasts themselves.
Mr Thompson has a point. There are strong views on both sides about the causes of the conflict and the way it was conducted. An appeal to benefit the unfortunate victims could detract from the perceived impartiality of the BBC's news broadcasts. Indeed we could question why this particular crisis should take precedence over humanitarian catastrophes in other areas, such as the Congo. People now know about the DEC appeal, not least as a result of all the controversy, and we hope they will give generously to help the innocent victims of this conflict. But Mr Thompson is right: the BBC's first duty is to safeguard its reputation for unbiased coverage.
Let's do lunch
AS WE report today, one of the few good consequences of the downturn is that greater numbers of Michelin-starred restaurants are offering cut-price lunch deals, to attract cash-strapped customers. Eating our way out of recession has to be the most pleasurable way of helping the economy in its hour of need.
