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Sir Paul Stephenson under attack as he admits Met gun patrol blunders
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent29.10.09
Scotland Yard chief Sir Paul Stephenson faced criticism today over blunders that allowed armed police patrols.
The Met Commissioner admitted he had not been informed and that there was error and misjudgment in allowing the patrols.
Sir Paul spoke at a Metropolitan Police Authority meeting in City Hall a week after it was revealed that armed officers were accompanying neighbourhood patrols of estates in guncrime hotspots.
He said that if he had been told of the plan he would have blocked it — and that when his deputy, Tim Godwin, learned of the scheme he jumped from his chair saying: “No, no, no.”
Sir Paul admitted the pilot scheme had been a “small extension of existing firearms tactics”, which gave the impression that armed patrols were routine.
“There was a failure to recognise the significance of these tactics. I fully understand why it caused grief and concern and I regret it,” he said, adding that eight patrols took place in five boroughs.
Officers were deployed from 20 minutes to two and a half hours and on three occasions recovered weapons, including two rifles and a handgun.
Sir Paul said the decision was made in the CO19 firearms branch. No one has been disciplined, but the branch has received advice — which one MPA member, Toby Harris, said he understood to have been “the mother and father of all bollockings”.
There was criticism from MPA members that neither Sir Paul nor his deputy knew of the decision. Labour's Joanne McCartney said: “You should have known and I want an assurance that this does not happen again. I have pages of complaints from communities in Haringey who are angry that they were not consulted and concerned that their community was considered a no-go area.”
The meeting also heard that plans to give officers Taser weapons at the Notting Hill Carnival this year were vetoed when passed to the commissioner for approval. MPA member Chris Boothman said: “This brings us back to the debate about who is in charge of the Met.”
Reader views (4)
unfortunately this seems a necessary 'evil' as the police have been consistently outgunned (story a few weeks ago about a ploiceman cornering a suspect before being forced to back off at gun point) and we cannot allow the police to fail in their duty through fear of armed gangs. as long as this deployment is reviewed periodically and weapons are not deployed in non-armed incidents i dont really see the issue.
- Aesir, SE1
I heard Mr Malthouse on the Today prog this morning and was particularly impressed with his very polite, accurate and hilarious put down of MPA (Green) Member Jenny Jones. That said why does he keep sticking his nose in, no wonder their is confusion and indecision in the Met, they don't know where the missile is coming from. Leave the police to police and let's get back some honesty into policing and the politics surrounding policing. How about a discussion of the various 'No Go' areas that still flourish in London?
- Ranter, Maidstone, UK
Mr Malthouse addedd: "There was an error of judgment by the officer concerned who did not appreciate the implications of that deployment."
The only implication was that he probably got the overwhelming support of the majority of London's law abiding citizenry. Back to square one now.
Few batted an eyelid when armed officers mounted checkpoints as a result of the IRA mainland campaign. Similarly few are surprised to see armed police around Westminster or Airports but stick some where they are actually needed and the moral cowards and PC brigade start wetting themselves.
Is there a single politician with the equipment between his legs to let the Met police London in manner in which it demands?
New York has proved that high visibility policing works and London demands similar.
- Mark, South-East London
Who does this Malthouse bloke think he is, stating that a Senior Police officer made an error of judgment on an operational matter? Operational decisions are a matter for the Police, not Malthouse. He needs to come down off his high horse and get back in his box. Speak to anyone who resides in the areas where gun crime is a problem and they`ll welcome with open arms the sight of police officers, on foot, properly equipped to do the job in hand. Kit Malthouse, you need to get out a bit more and speak with real people....and stop pretending you`re a senior police officer.
- Matt, Islington
