Public confidence in the Met has slumped to “an all-time low” in the wake of the Charing Cross and other scandals, a former senior officer warned today after Cressida Dick was told that her job could be on the line.
Dal Babu, a former Met chief superintendent, said the “plethora of incidents” exposed over the past year had left the force facing “another Macpherson moment” - in a reference to the crisis it faced after the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence.
Mr Babu added that the “facts speak for themselves” and that Mayor Sadiq Khan had been “right” to put Commissioner Dame Cressida on notice after summoning her to City Hall on Wednesday for a grilling.
Aides said Mr Khan had made clear that he was angry about a “return to the bad old days of the Met in his childhood in the 1970s and 1980s” and that he would have to “consider whether she is the right person to lead the change at the Met” unless urgent improvements were made.
Home Secretary Priti Patel, who has joint responsibility for appointing the Met Commissioner, also weighed in on Wednesday, telling MPs that she was concerns about leadership failures at Scotland Yard which extended to “all levels” and had led to the “appalling and sickening” behaviour at Charing Cross.
A report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct said that officers there had exchanged Whatsapp messages about raping and beating women, killing black children and the Holocaust over a prolonged period during Dame Cressida’s time as Commissioner.
In his remarks today, Mr Babu, who was one the Met’s most senior ethnic officers during his time with the force, said he was dismayed by the succession of revelations as he backed the Mayor’s warning to Dame Cressida.
“It’s been done in a very, very public way. It’s a public dressing down and the Mayor is right,” Mr Babu told the BBC’s Today programme.
“Confidence in the police is at an all-time low. Effectively, we have another Macpherson moment. This is a challenging time for the Met.
“If you look at the plethora of incidents that have happened – we’ve had the appalling situation with Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry … and then the ghoulish photographs taken by officers, you have the Stephen Port investigations and the failure there, Sarah Everard, Daniel Morgan and now in the last few days we’ve had Charing Cross.
“Sadly, in an organisation as big as this there will be other issues as well. The facts speak for themselves.”
In her remarks to the Commons Home Affairs Select Committee on Wednesday, the Home Secretary blamed “failures of leadership” for the problems that had emerged.
Asked if this included Dame Cressida, she added: “It’s across the board. It’s at every single level.
“I’m very clear and upfront with the Commissioner about the problems that we see in the Metropolitan Police with a range of failure points. I’m very, very challenging and will continue to be so because the public want answers and the public want to have greater confidence and assurance.
“There are lots of issues where we need to see major, significant improvements – behaviour, delivery, accountability and protecting our streets and the public in London.”
Scotland Yard has apologised for the conduct of its officers at Charing Cross and earlier failings, but said there would be no immediate public response from Dame Cressida following her rebuke from the Mayor.
