Are we entering the end point for Dame Cressida Dick? This morning, Sadiq Khan said the Metropolitan Police Commissioner could have “days or weeks” left in the job unless she turns around the force’s culture, following a string of scandals. It is a far cry from five months ago, when Dame Cressida was offered a two-year extension to her contract, taking her tenure to April 2024.
At the time, the mayor said he supported the decision as it provided “experienced and strong leadership we need as our city emerges from the pandemic.” Now, Khan believes the Commissioner must demonstrate she’s capable of turning things around by the next time the two meet. His words were pretty brutal:
“Anybody who works for me [who] hasn’t got my trust and confidence, more importantly hasn’t got the trust and confidence of Londoners, I won’t keep silent about that, I’ll take action.”
These comments of course come long ahead of any findings from two major inquiries into the Met, one led by Baroness Louise Casey and a second Home Office probe chaired by Dame Elish Angiolini QC.
Indeed it is Home Secretary Priti Patel who has final say on the Met Commissioners. But as with the precedent set by Boris Johnson as London Mayor when he forced out Sir Ian Blair, Dame Cressida’s position will not be tenable if Khan decides he no longer has confidence in her.
Sadiq is a shrewd operator. A politician from Labour’s centre, he secured the party’s candidacy for mayor in 2015 at the same time as Jeremy Corbyn stormed to victory in the leadership contest.
If the Mayor has concluded he is safe to quite so publicly threaten the Met Commissioner’s role, it suggests she has entered exceptionally perilous territory.
For more instant analysis on the latest developments, check out our Home Affairs Editor Martin Bentham’s take on today’s events, how we got here, and where we’re headed.
Elsewhere in the paper, David Bond has his usual must-read following another difficult PMQs for Boris Johnson, a political storyteller no longer in control of the narrative.
Not least because he was forced to again defend himself following the leak of a new photo which appears to place him within a Bullingdon of an open bottle of champagne at an event allegedly held on December 15, 2020 in Downing Street.
In the comment pages, proper films, great acting... Arts Editor Nancy Durrant declares that this Oscars’ list shows cinema is back. We also get her view on the gender-neutral categories and what Adele really meant in her acceptance speech.
Elsewhere, Football Correspondent Dan Kilpatrick says West Ham failed a test of moral leadership by playing Kurt Zouma in search of three points last night.
And finally, latex, leather, (faux) fur and feather: The best dressed guests at the BRIT Awards 2022. Pictures galore.
