If I were to tell you that the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police had written to the Home Secretary, that may not in itself sound like an explosive political development.
But in the context of Sir Stephen House’s appearance in front of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, it illustrates the sharply deteriorating relationship between the Met and City Hall.
Sir Stephen took the opportunity to hit out at Sadiq Khan, accusing the Mayor of ousting Dame Cressida Dick without due process. In what our Home Affairs Editor Martin Bentham described as a “dramatic escalation of hostilities between the Mayor and Scotland Yard,” House said the way in which Dame Cressida had been removed was contrary to procedure laid down in legislation.
In an emotional testimony, he said: “I feel sad for my boss that her police career and lifetime of public services ended in this way. I know that I’m not alone in feeling this”.
Sir Stephen went on to reveal he had written to Priti Patel, asking her to investigate how the Commissioner’s departure was managed. In response, the Mayor’s office called Sir Stephen’s comments about due process “entirely incorrect.”
Dame Cressida resigned earlier this month following conversations with the Mayor, in which he told her he did not have confidence in her ability to reform the Met, following a series of high profile scandals.
Our Local Democracy reporter Joe Talora, who was at today’s hearing, sums up the situation in a tweet:
“It’s clear so far that Cressida Dick’s resignation has only served to strengthen the “us versus them” feeling within the Met. Doubling down on the defensiveness, the gaslighting and the outright refusal to accept that there are deep cultural issues that need addressing.”
For more, do read Joe’s analysis on how the relationship between the Mayor and the Met Police reached breaking point.
Elsewhere in the paper, in a ‘letter from Ukraine‘, Stuart Ramsay, Chief Correspondent at Sky News, describes the scenes on the frontline in the east of the country as troops prepare for an escalation in the conflict.
In the comment pages, transport commentator Christian Wolmar has some rare TfL-related good news. The largest public transport project London has ever seen – Crossrail – is only a few weeks away from opening. No, really.
Meanwhile, Joe Bromley wonders whether fashion has lost it, what with the city seemingly “dressing for the climate it wants, not the climate it has“.
And finally, how good is London’s £135 dessert menu? The proof is in the pudding, as Reveller Editor David Ellis has the arduous task of heading to Cédric Grolet at The Berkeley. (I had a packed lunch today.)
