The future of Metropolitan Police chief Dame Cressida Dick hangs in the balance over her response to outrage sparked by racist, misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on Wednesday said his continued trust and confidence in Dame Cressida hinges on how she addresses problems with the culture at the force and her plan to win back the trust of the public.
Mr Khan is responsible for holding the Commissioner to account and is consulted by the Home Secretary over who is appointed to the role.
His comments came after a series of disturbing messages exchanged by a group of officers, primarily based at Charing Cross police station, were published by a watchdog last week.
Asked if Dame Cressida still has his trust and confidence, Mr Khan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That will be contingent upon the response from the Commissioner the next time I see her.”
Mr Khan said he sees the Commissioner “on a regular basis”, adding: “The next time I see her I’ll expect to see a response to the two big questions that I posed.”
He told the programme: “So the first part of what I expect to see is – what is the response from the Commissioner as to how she intends to address the culture, address the situation, where too many police officers are behaving in a way that’s unacceptable?
“And by the way, nine of those 14 police officers – you mentioned Charing Cross – are still serving.
“And secondly, 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?”
He said this will be a matter of “days and weeks”.
Mr Khan told the broadcaster two of the nine officers still serving after being caught up in the scandal have been promoted, while a 10th – a former officer – is still employed by the Met as a contractor in a staff role.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) took the unusual step of publishing the WhatsApp and Facebook messages, which were uncovered as part of a probe into behaviour within the Charing Cross team between 2016 and 2018.
Some 14 officers were investigated as a result, with two found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct. One was sacked and another resigned before he would have been dismissed.
Asked if all of those involved should be sacked, Mr Khan said: “I think Londoners can’t understand why nine of these 14 police officers are still serving.
“I’ve asked that question.”
The Independent put this question to the Met Police last week and a spokesperson said: “The Independent Office for Police Conduct recommended the misconduct outcomes for all officers involved in this investigation.
“Four of the officers were found to have no case to answer by the IOPC and the others were subjected to misconduct meetings rather than misconduct hearings.”
On whether the Met acknowledges concerns that it is institutionally racist and how it plans to tackle racism in its ranks, the spokesperson added: “In an organisation of more than 44,000 people, there will be a small number with attitudes and beliefs that are not welcome in the Met; we will challenge, educate and discipline as appropriate.
“We have done more than almost any other organisation to ensure that racism isn’t tolerated and we champion equality and inclusion.
“Like all big organisations we know we can’t be complacent and will continue to actively support and listen to our communities and our staff, and be an organisation which learns and continually seeks to improve.”
When asked what would happen if the Met chief is not able to produce an acceptable plan to tackle the issues in the force in the coming weeks, Mr Khan told the BBC: “I don’t want to talk in hypotheticals but if that was the case, if anyone who works for me hasn’t got my trust and confidence, more importantly hasn’t got the trust and confidence of Londoners, I would not keep silent about that I would take action.
“I believe in due process. It is only fair for me to let the Commissioner come back and let her answer the questions I have got.”
On the question of whether London could see a new commissioner, the mayor replied: “Let’s wait and see.”
