Trust in the Metropolitan Police has been “hugely damaged” by the torrent of scandals involving its officers, the Prime Minister said on Tuesday.
Rishi Sunak was speaking after a damning report branded the force institutionally sexist, racist and homophobic.
Baroness Dame Louise Casey denounced a catalogue of failings at Scotland Yard in her landmark review, commissioned after the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens.
The report said the protection of women had been “thrown out of the window” by the force.
Asked whether he believed his two daughters could trust police in the Capital, Mr Sunak told the BBC: “Of course we need the answer to that question to be yes.
“Clearly at the moment trust in the police has been hugely damaged.”
He added: “Ultimately I want both my daughters to grow up in a society which not only do they have real trust in the police, it’s just fundamentally safe.”
Work is underway by police forces across the country to regain people’s trust, he said.
“It’s not just in London, across the country we’ve changed the guidance for police forces, for how they vet new officers.
“All police forces are checking all their officers again against the police database, and they’re all being inspected by the independent inspector of police forces.”
Baroness Casey warned the problems in the Met are so severe that there could be other officers as bad as killer Couzens and his serial rapist colleague David Carrick still within the ranks.
Mayor Sadiq Khan, who acts as police commissioner for London, said he was “unflinching” in his resolve to overhaul the force.
“Today is without doubt one of the darkest days in the history of our almost 200-year-old Met Police service,” he said.
He added it was “really important” that if the Met is going to have a future, it must “embrace the recommendations” of Baroness Casey’s report.
Liberal Democrat MP and former police officer Wendy Chamberlain said: “This report is an important step towards justice for the families of women and other victims who have suffered because of the failings evident throughout the Met.
“It’s clear that despite repeated reviews and reports that the force’s toxic culture has never been properly addressed. This time, it has to be.
“Leadership in the Met and the Home Office must view this as a precipice moment."
