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Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to retire as Met police commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe to retire as Met police commissioner
(about 2 hours later)
Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is to retire after five years as the commissioner of the Metropolitan police, Scotland Yard has announced. Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe is to step down as commissioner of the Metropolitan police after a tumultuous period leading Britain’s biggest police force.
The 58-year-old, who was appointed in September 2011, will stay in his post until February 2017 to allow Amber Rudd, the home secretary, and Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, to appoint a successor, the force said. He completed his full five-year term as commissioner of the Met just over a fortnight ago, and had a year’s extension to his contract which would have seen him in the job until September 2017.
Hogan-Howe said: “I came into this job determined to fight crime and make the MPS the best, most professional police service. I wish my successor well as they take on this amazing responsibility. Sources in the Met and the mayor of London’s office insisted Hogan-Howe was not forced out but had chosen when to leave. There had been some tension between the new Labour mayor, Sadiq Khan, and the commissioner, who was appointed in 2011 by his Conservative predecessor, Boris Johnson, and a Conservative home secretary, Theresa May.
“It has been a great privilege to be the Met’s commissioner. I have loved my time in the role and I have loved being a police officer. It’s the most rewarding of jobs to protect good people and lock up the bad guys.” Khan said on Thursday he had nothing to do with Hogan-Howe’s decision. When asked if he had any involvement, he told reporters: “That isn’t true. It’s to do with Bernard’s decision to retire.
In a statement Rudd said: “I want to thank Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe for the leadership he has shown as commissioner, and his work to keep the communities of London safe and the United Kingdom secure against the backdrop of a heightened terror threat. “I didn’t want him to go, we worked incredibly well together. But I am grateful he gave me and the home secretary sufficient notice.”
“Sir Bernard has had a long and distinguished career as a determined crimefighter and an inspirational senior officer. He has shown remarkable and consistent dedication to public service. Among his many achievements in London was the delivery of a safe and successful 2012 Olympics. I am grateful to Sir Bernard for his dedication and support, and look forward to working closely with him until his retirement next year.” Hogan-Howe was understood to be willing to serve longer, if needed, but he is the first commissioner in over a decade to complete his full term. His two immediate predecessors were forced from office.
Khan, said: “I would like to thank Bernard for his years of service and dedication to keeping Londoners safe. I have enjoyed working closely together with him over the past five months. Bernard oversaw the excellent policing of the 2012 Olympic Games and has taken big steps towards making our police service more representative of London. His departure comes weeks ahead of a report into the Met’s handling of historic sex abuse cases, which is expected to be critical. The Met is also facing £400m of budget cuts by 2020, on top of large cuts it has already suffered.
One police source said the commissioner’s “long-term aim was to go at a time of his own choosing”, and that was exactly what he had done.
Hogan-Howe will stay in his post until February 2017, while the mayor and the home secretary choose a successor. Downing Street is expected to have a strong say. The lack of an obvious successor led to speculation Hogan-Howe might have stayed on and been granted a further extension.
Senior figures in the mayor’s team thought Hogan-Howe was doing a good job. Just a week ago the deputy mayor for policing and crime, Sophie Linden, said she had full confidence in him.
Hogan-Howe became commissioner on 12 September 2011, after the force had been hit by the worst riots in modern English history. Crime fell by 18% during most of his time in office, though some categories are now rising.
His predecessor, Sir Paul Stephenson, was forced from office as a result of the phone-hacking scandal, and before him, Sir Ian Blair quit after he was told he had lost Johnson’s confidence.
Hogan-Howe’s biggest achievement may well have been to show the post of Met commissioner is not an impossible job, even though the role is beset by political hurdles.
To meet the big reduction in government funding, the Met will soon move out of its current headquarters to a new building. It has cut £600m from its budget and Hogan-Howe, after much deliberation, spoke out against the Conservative government that appointed him.
Recent tensions surfaced with Khan, who was elected in May, over the issue of spit hoods, pieces of fabric and mesh placed over detainees’ heads to stop them spitting or biting officers.
Khan leaned on the Met to reverse a decision to introduce the hoods earlier this month. The Met was planning to deploy them in custody areas, but after the Guardian revealed the decision, the mayor’s team were unhappy because they had not been consulted.
Hogan-Howe last week accepted there had been a lack of sensitivity over the decision and regretted the fact the new mayor had not been told. The mayor is supposed to oversee the Met, shaping its strategic priorities while not interfering in its operations.
Hogan-Howe said last week: “This was our decision prior to the mayor and deputy mayor arriving.
“We didn’t raise it with the new mayor or deputy mayor. I’ve already acknowledged that probably, with retrospect, we didn’t anticipate the response because we didn’t think it was such a big issue. But clearly for people it has been.”
The official statements announcing Hogan-Howe’s departure carried no sign of any tension.
Hogan-Howe, 58, said: “I came into this job determined to fight crime and make the MPS the best, most professional police service. I wish my successor well as they take on this amazing responsibility.
“It has been a great privilege to be the Met’s commissioner. I have loved my time in the role and I have loved being a police officer.”
Hogan-Howe was hated by some sections of the media for the pursuit during his time in office of journalists over phone-hacking and bribery claims. He also faced calls to quit over Operation Midland, an inquiry into claims VIPs had abused children decades ago, alleged to have spiralled out of control and collapsed without unearthing evidence of guilt.
Under his tenure the Met successfully policed the 2012 London Olympics, but the officer who actually oversaw that soon left the organisation because Hogan-Howe had a particular vision of whom he wanted in his top team. The Met has also faced a heightened terrorist threat and is seen as doing a good job in that area, although government has considered passing the responsibility to the relatively newly formed National Crime Agency, an idea the Met has so far successfully resisted.
Khan praised Hogan-Howe’s record, saying: “Bernard oversaw the excellent policing of the 2012 Olympic Games and has taken big steps towards making our police service more representative of London.
“I will work closely with the home secretary to ensure we find the best possible candidate to appoint as the new commissioner, so that we can continue to keep Londoners safe.”“I will work closely with the home secretary to ensure we find the best possible candidate to appoint as the new commissioner, so that we can continue to keep Londoners safe.”
Hogan-Howe had been expected to remain in the role until at least September next year, as Theresa May announced in February, when she was still home secretary, that she had recommended that the Queen approve a 12-month extension to his five-year contract, which had been due to expire this month. The home secretary, Amber Rudd, said: “I want to thank Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe for the leadership he has shown as commissioner, and his work to keep the communities of London safe and the United Kingdom secure against the backdrop of a heightened terror threat.
Legislation allows for an initial extension of up to three years. This can then be followed by unlimited one-year extensions. “Sir Bernard has had a long and distinguished career as a determined crimefighter and an inspirational senior officer. He has shown remarkable and consistent dedication to public service. Among his many achievements in London was the delivery of a safe and successful 2012 Olympics. I am grateful to Sir Bernard for his dedication and support, and look forward to working closely with him until his retirement next year.”
More details soon . . . Met staff morale hit record lows but the force maintained officer numbers at 32,000 as it restructured and tried to meet new challenges from the changing nature of crime, especially from cyber offences.
The last commissioner of the Met to complete their term of office was the then Sir John Stevens in 2005.
Among those who may apply for the commissioner’s job are Sara Thornton, current head of the National Police Chiefs’ Council and former head of the Thames Valley force, bordering London. She was once described as David Cameron’s favourite police chief. Also in the running is Mark Rowley, an assistant commissioner of the Met who oversees counter-terrorism.