The head of the Metropolitan Police has resigned after harsh criticism from London Mayor Sadiq Khan. This had called for a culture change.
LONDON – It is a harrowing picture that an inquiry into the work of the London Metropolitan Police released last week has revealed: multiple cases of bullying, misconduct in office, scandalous misogyny, the list of allegations against numerous police officers, mainly based at Charing Cross police station should have been stationed in the City of Westminster is long.
With the resignation of London’s chief of police, Cressida Dick, the findings now also have personal consequences for the already crisis-ridden London police force, although according to reports in the British media, including the BBC, the resignation was not based on the results of the investigation. Instead, a crucial factor in Dick’s resignation was that she had lost the backing of London’s Labor Mayor Sadiq Khan, who had called for a culture change from Dick’s leadership team.
Trouble in Britain: dispute with Sadiq Khan provokes resignation of London police chief
A few days earlier, Khan had expressed doubts that the 61-year-old was taking the necessary measures to renew the police force in the right way. Therefore, Dick explained on Thursday evening (February 10, 2022) “with great regret”, she had no choice but to step aside. According to media reports, she is to remain in office for a while in order to enable an orderly handover, the German Press Agency reported, among other things.
However, the successful replacement of your post could be difficult, as the “Politico” portal reported on Friday: The Interior Minister and conservative hardliner Priti Patel is responsible for appointing a new leadership of the largest police unit in Great Britain – but the support of the social democratic also applies London Mayor Khan as crucial. He has already received criticism from government circles for dealing with Dick’s personnel.
Criticism of London police: A murder case and doubts about how Boris Johnson’s “Partygate” was handled
The Metropolitan Police has repeatedly fallen into disrepute in recent years – among other things, due to the discriminatory or misogynist behavior of some police officers or the harsh treatment of demonstrators. A low point last year was the murder of 33-year-old Sarah Everard*, who was killed by a police officer. There is also criticism of how the police deal with the lockdown parties in Downing Street*. The investigation into this political scandal surrounding Prime Minister Boris Johnson* is still ongoing. (ska with dpa) *fr.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
