Sadiq Khan has hit out at outgoing Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick over a ‘shocking’ Met report published on Tuesday.
The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Police, Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) revealed ‘fundamental flaws’ in Scotland Yard’s anti-corruption practices which have been described as ‘unacceptable’.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was briefed on the report’s findings in February shortly before Cressida Dick’s sudden resignation, said on Tuesday that “Londonians will be shocked” by the breadth of the report’s findings as he denounced the “flaws” of Cressida Dick. ”.
The report revealed a litany of failures within the Met, including the recruitment of more than 100 officers with criminal records in the past two years alone and examples of “hundreds of pieces of evidence, including” money and drugs”, missing.
Reacting to the report on Tuesday, Mr Khan told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “It is shocking. Londoners will be shocked at the conclusions of the HMIC report, at the checks that are not being done and should be done, at those with convictions working in sensitive areas, etc.
“Londonians now know my views on the current commissioner. The Met Police Federation and the current commissioner may not appreciate that I have an important job holding the police to account, but I take it very seriously. The job of the new commissioner will be to address some of those failings – and they are failings.
Although Mr Khan was partially briefed on the relationship with Home Secretary Priti Patel and Cressida Dick herself before his resignation in February, he said there were ‘a number of things’ that had him loses confidence in the commissioner.
He added: “Obviously when these sorts of flaws aren’t ironed out, Londoners will understand why I made the decision I made.”
Despite stepping down last month, Cressida Dick is continuing in her role as commissioner on a temporary basis pending the recruitment of a new commissioner.
On Tuesday, Sadiq Khan reiterated his position that the new commissioner must present a plan on how he intends to restore public confidence in the Met.
He said: “The two pressing issues for the new commissioner – given the failure of the current commissioner to do so – are one: to have a plan to solve these problems. There are deep cultural issues related to racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia, discrimination, etc. And second, a plan to regain the confidence of Londoners. In many London communities this has been lost and the Child Q case will only make matters worse. »
The HMICFRS report was commissioned by Priti Patel last summer following findings by independent group Daniel Morgan which concluded the Met was ‘institutionally corrupt’.
The Home Secretary said on Tuesday she was “very disappointed” that the serious problems uncovered in the report “still persist” despite some progress in some areas.
She said: “Standards need to be improved immediately. I expect the Mayor of London and the new Commissioner to address these shortcomings urgently.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-22 16:48:31
