Dame Cressida Dick has dramatically quit as Met Police Commissioner just hours after saying she had "absolutely no intention" of quitting.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he was "not satisfied" Dame Cressida could "root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exist" in the force or restore Londoners' trust.
It is understood the mayor informed Dame Cressida she had lost his confidence and she resigned instead of attending a showdown meeting with him at around 4.30pm today.
Mr Khan said the final straw was the police watchdog's report into 14 cops who joked about rape, LGBT people and violence towards women in Whatsapp messages, saying he was "shocked" and "the response from the Commissioner wasn't up to the scale of the change required in the Met Police Service".
But it comes after Scotland Yard has been rocked by multiple scandals in recent months, including the force's handling of partygate, Sarah Everard's murder and repeated claims of a culture of misogyny and racism.
It has been agreed that Dame Cressida will continue to serve for a short period to enable an orderly handover.
The mayor said in a statement: “Last week, I made clear to the Metropolitan Police Commissioner the scale of the change I believe is urgently required to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in the Met and to root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists.
"I am not satisfied with the Commissioner’s response. On being informed of this, Dame Cressida Dick has said she will be standing aside.
"It’s clear that the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the Metropolitan Police.
“I would like to thank Dame Cressida Dick for her 40 years of dedicated public service, with the vast majority spent at the Met where she was the first woman to become Commissioner. In particular, I commend her for the recent work in helping us to bring down violent crime in London – although of course there is more to do.
“I want to put on the record again that there are thousands of incredibly brave and decent police officers at the Met who go above and beyond every day to help keep us safe, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude."
It's understood Cressida Dick did not personally tell Sadiq Khan of her decision to quit, either by phone or e-mail. Officials in Scotland Yard conveyed it to the mayor's office.
The mayor and Home Secretary Priti Patel will now begin the search for a new Commissioner.
Dame Cressida acknowledged the Met's failings in her statement, which said: “The murder of Sarah Everard and many other awful cases recently have, I know, damaged confidence in this fantastic police service. There is much to do – and I know that the Met has turned its full attention to rebuilding public trust and confidence.”
Describing her decision to resign, she said: “It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London today, it is clear that the Mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue. He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.
“At his request, I have agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new Commissioner.
“Undertaking this role as a servant of the people of London and the UK has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life."
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “She would be the first to say that she has held the role during challenging times; yet for nearly five years she has undertaken her duties with a steadfast dedication to protecting our capital city and its people – including during the unprecedented period of the pandemic.
“Leading the Met has also involved driving our national counter terrorism capability at a time of multiple threats while as the first woman to hold the post, she has exemplified the increasingly diverse nature of our police and demonstrated that all can aspire to hold leadership roles in policing in this country today.”
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper added: “The Mayor of London is right to insist on reforms to the Metropolitan Police and he has shown leadership in addressing this."
It comes less than 36 hours after Mr Khan said Dame Cressida had “days or weeks” to avoid losing his support.
The Commissioner is appointed by the Home Secretary but London’s mayor is consulted.
Mr Khan agreed to Home Secretary Priti Patel extending the Met chief’s contract less than six months ago, but said yesterday: “What is the plan to win back the trust and confidence in the public in relation to the police service that police our capital city?"
The shock news comes just hours after Dame Cressida gave an interview to BBC London, saying she had put a plan to the Mayor and was "leading transformation" at Scotland Yard.
She said: “I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and have been, actually for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the Met.
“We have a service now which is, I’m absolutely certain, more professional, fairer, more transparent, more accountable and closer to its communities and more effective in, for example, reducing violent crime, which has been going down year on year on year in almost every category, bucking the national trends.”
