Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said it is “nonsensical” he does not have the power to sack staff. He warned the force has “hundreds of people who shouldn’t be here”, as cases of officers previously accused of violence against women are re-examined.
Sir Mark said dozens of officers have been redeployed from tackling serious crime and terrorism to investigate wrongdoing in the force. A BBC London poll found deep distrust in the Met following a damning report.
Baroness Casey uncovered widespread racism, homophobia and misogyny in the force, and warned it may need to be broken up if it can not be urgently reformed. During a phone-in on BBC Radio London on Friday in which he answered listeners’ concerns about the force, Sir Mark criticised the Met’s disciplinary process and called for an overhaul.
“In all cases, I don’t have the final say on who’s in the Metropolitan Police. I know that sounds mad, I’m the commissioner,” he said. He pointed out that independent legal tribunals can decide the Met has to retain officers even though the force wants to sack them.
In a letter to the Mayor of London and Home Secretary Suella Braverman, Sir Mark said officers had been diverted to the force’s Directorate of Professional Standards (DPS).
“Over the last three months we have had, on average, 90 additional officers and staff from these areas supporting DPS,” he wrote, adding that many had volunteered.
Sir Mark said four in five of the original inquiries into officers accused of domestic and sexual violence in the last decade had not resulted in the correct action and should be reassessed.
Source: BBC
In other news – Michael Gove admits mistakes over social housing after tenant death
Michael Gove has admitted past mistakes made by the government over social housing have contributed to some tenants being neglected by landlords.
The housing secretary told the BBC the case of Sheila Seleoane – who lay dead in her flat for two-and-a-half years – was an unacceptable example of tenants being let down by housing associations. Learn more
