THE new head of the embattled Metropolitan Police has been announced.
Former counter-terrorism chief Mark Rowley will take over the troubled force as it faces action over a catalogue of recent failures.
The force was taken into special measures earlier this month, following a number of scandals over the past year.
The Met was rocked in 2021 when one of its officers Wayne Couzens was revealed as the rapist and murderer of Sarah Everard.
It has also faced accusations of misogyny and heavy-handedness in its response to a vigil held in memory of the murdered woman at which mourners who had gathered were arrested over breaches of lockdown rules.
A number of incidents involving the strip-searching of children – including the Child Q incident in which a schoolgirl was forced to strip while menstruating – are under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Rowley will take over from the former Chief Constable of Police Scotland Stephen House, who was acting as interim head after Cressida Dick was forced to step down.
She was told by London Mayor Sadiq Khan she no longer had his “confidence” and said she had “no choice” but to resign.
Rowley led the five-year investigation into the tragic murder of 13-year-old Milly Dowler.
He was appointed Chief Constable of Surrey Police in 2009 and went on to serve in senior roles in the Met before retiring in 2018.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Sir Mark Rowley is a distinguished and exceptionally experienced police officer, having served the people of the West Midlands and Surrey before guiding the capital through some of its most challenging moments in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks, as the Met’s then head of counter-terrorism.
“He now takes on one of the most important and demanding jobs in policing, leading the country’s largest force at a time when public trust in the Metropolitan Police has been severely undermined by a number of significant failings.
“Rebuilding public trust and delivering on crime reduction must be his priority.”
