CRESSIDA DICK HAS resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said.
It has been agreed that she will continue to serve for a short period to enable an orderly handover.
The news comes a week after Mr Khan said he was “not satisfied” with the Met’s Commissioner’s response to calls for change following a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, racist and misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers shared by officers at Charing Cross Police Station.
In a statement this evening, Khan said he made it clear last week to Dick that “the scale of change I believe is urgently required to rebuild the trust and confidence of Londoners in the Met and to root out of the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists”.
“I am not satisfied with the Commissioner’s response,” Khan said.
“On being informed of this, Dame Cressida Dick has said she will be standing aside. It’s clear that the only way to start to deliver the scale of the change required is to have new leadership right at the top of the Metropolitan Police,” he said.
He thanked Dick for her 40 years of “dedicated public service”.
“In particular, I commend her for the recent work in helping us to bring down violent crime in London – although of course there is more to do,” he said.
“I want to put on the record again that there are thousands of incredibly brave and decent police officers at the Met who go above and beyond every day to help keep us safe, and we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”
Khan said he will “now work closely with the Home Secretary on the appointment of a new Commissioner so that we can move quickly to restore trust in the capital’s police service while keeping London safe”.
Dick this evening said it is with “huge sadness” that following contact with Khan “it is clear that he no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership of the Met to continue”.
“He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner,” she said.
“At his request, I have agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new Commissioner,” the Commissioner said.
“Undertaking this role as a servant of the people of London and the UK has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life,” she said.
Dick said that “the murder of Sarah Everard and many other awful cases recently have, I know, damaged confidence in this fantastic police service”.
“There is much to do – and I know that the Met has turned its full attention to rebuilding public trust and confidence. For that reason, I am very optimistic about the future for the Met and for London,” she said.
Earlier today, when asked by the BBC if she should step down she said: “I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and have been, actually for the last five years, leading a real transformation in the Met.
With reporting by Press Association
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