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Quick end to year of controversy
Evening Standard9 Apr 2009
BOB QUICK'S tenure of just over a year as head of Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism operations has been dogged by controversy.
When appointed head of Specialist Operations, he was considered a “safe pair of hands” in one of the toughest policing roles in the world.
But his long career, which once saw him touted as a potential Met Commissioner, is now in ruins after a series of disastrous decisions in the past few months.
Mr Quick was a more relaxed, low-profile individual than his predecessor Andy Hayman, who took early retirement amid accusations of lavish expenses and questions over his relationship with a woman civil servant. Mr Hayman was later cleared of any wrongdoing.
However, after several months without incident, Mr Quick found himself in the spotlight last November when it became clear he had authorised the arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green and the raid on his House of Commons office.
Sir Paul Stephenson, then acting head of the Yard, was forced into giving Mr Quick his backing, although there were reports of a row. The review of Mr Green's arrest, ordered by Sir Paul, raised concerns over the way police conducted the investigation and questioned whether the inquiry “met current policy and best practice”.
As a result, Mr Quick was not even considered for the Commissioner's post.
This was followed by Sunday newspaper revelations that Mr Quick's wife ran a car hire business from their Surrey home, possibly compromising their security. His subsequent accusation to reporters that the Conservatives had mobilised the media against him — which he was later forced to withdraw — raised further questions about his judgment.
Mr Quick, a father of five, joined the Met in 1978, serving mostly in south London. A graduate of Exeter University, he has a diploma in applied criminology from Cambridge University and first came to prominence when appointed head of the Met's Anti Corruption Command in 2000. Two years later, he led the “Safer Streets” Campaign against street robbery and armed crime. He was deputy chief constable and Chief Constable of Surrey, before returning to the Met last year as Assistant Commissioner.
