Keir Starmer has said that the Metropolitan police chief, Sir Mark Rowley, must act “further and faster” to deliver the change needed as a result of the Casey review
While he had confidence in the head of Scotland Yard, the Labour leader criticised the government’s “hands off approach” to delivering police reform and committed a Labour government under his leadership to introducing mandatory national rules for police forces on vetting.
It was “extraordinary” that this was not already in place, he added, especially after the examples of violence against women from police officers.
Starmer said the “biggest danger” after Louise Casey’s damning review, which found the force institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic, is that it “becomes just another report rather than the beginning of real, lasting change”.
The review, commissioned following Sarah Everard’s murder, warned there may be more officers like killer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick.
Labour has also proposed to introduce:
New leadership training to overhaul culture within the police.
13,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs.
Specialist rape and sexual assault units in every force and domestic violence specialist call handlers in every 999 control room.
Specialist mandatory training for every officer, including on bias and violence against women and girls.
More routes into policing for people from every background, including direct routes into detective work.
Starmer said a Labour government under his leadership would fully accept the findings of Lady Casey’s report.
“Page after page, the report provides both a detailed diagnosis of what’s gone wrong and a blueprint for radical reform,” he said at a London press conference.
“The strength of its findings require an immediate and urgent response … The new Met commissioner Mark Rowley has our support in the work he has now begun to turn it around. But he must go further and faster. And he will have our support in doing that.
“I know that there are officers right across the Met who are desperate to see these improvements put into place and action taken to rebuild the confidence of Londoners. But mark my words: I will be relentless in demanding progress and change.”
While he acknowledged he did have confidence in Cressida Dick before the mayor of London Sadiq Khan ousted her, he said it’s wrong to have the “criminal justice instinct that if one head rolls, then that’s the problem solved”.
“The duty of the Met is to go through significant change. Big change that requires strong leadership. Leadership which has the shoulder of the government behind it.”
Starmer said deep culture change will involve the Met “changing the police from a force to a service – with public service values at its heart”.
“If we can get Catholics to serve in Northern Ireland, I won’t expect any special pleading that the Met can’t represent modern London.”
Starmer has previously indicated the Metropolitan police might need to change its name as part of a much-needed “root and branch” review in the wake of the Carrick case.
The Labour leader likened the scale of change needed within the force to the policing reforms in Northern Ireland that took place after the Good Friday agreement. The Royal Ulster Constabulary was replaced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Starmer previously worked as a legal adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers, and played a role in driving the process of building public consent for policing.
