White, male field likely in search for new Met head as frontrunner steps aside

Lynne Owens, who retired last year as director general of the National Crime Agency, had been expected to apply for the job of Met commissioner after the resignation of Cressida Dick. Photograph: David Mirzoeff/PA

A frontrunner to be the next Metropolitan police commissioner has said she will not apply, leaving a former top cop turned thriller-writer as one of the favourites for the role.

Lynne Owens was the previous director general of the National Crime Agency and stood down last year to focus on her treatment for cancer. On Tuesday she wrote on Twitter that she had spent weeks considering whether to apply for the post of Britain’s top officer, but her decision was not health related.