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Priti Patel appoints Cressida Dick replacement at Met Police

The new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police has been named as Sir Mark Rowley.

Sir Mark, 57, takes over from Dame Cressida Dick, who was forced to resign after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan put her on notice following months of pressure.

He was handed the top job at Scotland Yard following a recommendation from Home Secretary Priti Patel, who received guidance from Mr Khan.

The force was placed into special measures following a string of scandals on Dame Cressida’s watch, with the murder of Sarah Everard among failures which dented its reputation.

Sir Mark said he was ‘deeply honoured’ to be appointed Metropolitan Police commissioner and vowed to deliver ‘more trust, less crime and high standards’ in the capital and beyond.

The ‘majority of officers and staff retain an extraordinary sense of vocation and determination and want us to do better,’ he added.

‘It is my job to help them do that, whilst also being ruthless in removing those who are corrupting our integrity.’

Sir Mark, whose police career spans 30 years, served as head of the Met Police’s counter-terrorism unit between 2014 and 2018.

Dame Cressida Dick stepped down hours after insisting she would not quit (Picture: Getty)© Provided by Metro Dame Cressida Dick stepped down hours after insisting she would not quit (Picture: Getty)

He was later given a knighthood after leading the national police response to the Manchester Arena bombing and the Westminster Bridge and London Bridge attacks.

Ms Patel described Sir Mark as a ‘distinguished and exceptionally experienced police officer’.

She said: ‘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.’

The London Mayor said Sir Mark was an ‘outstanding candidate’ and the ‘best person to lead the Met…at this extremely challenging time’.

‘A series of appalling scandals have not only exposed deep cultural problems within the Met, but have contributed to a crisis of confidence in London’s police service,’ Mr Khan said.

‘Sir Mark has made clear to me that he is determined to be a reforming Commissioner, committed to implementing a robust plan to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and to drive through the urgent reforms and step change in culture and performance Londoners deserve.

‘As Mayor, I will support and hold him to these promises as I continue to hold the Met to account.’

Sir Mark faces an uphill battle to change the public’s perception of the Met.

The force was branded ‘delusional’ on Tuesday after a number of errors made during an operation led to the shooting of an unarmed man.

The mother of missing teenager Richard Okorogheye, whose body was found two weeks after he went missing, rejected an apology from Scotland Yard.

Meanwhile uniformed police officers were told they were ‘not welcome’ at London Pride due to the ‘homophobic’ handling of the investigation into serial killer Stephen Port.

Source: Metro.co.uk

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