Met boss steps down before Midland report
SIR Bernard Hogan-Howe is retiring as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police ahead of a report into his force’s inquiry into alleged VIP paedophiles and rumours of tension with Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London.
The 58-year-old will step down in February despite having another year to run on his extended contract.
Sir Bernard said it had been an enormous privilege to serve as Britain’s most senior policeman but added that the time had come to pursue other opportunities.
His decision to leave early comes after a series of “flashpoints” between himself and Mr Khan, who is responsible for policing in the capital. Earlier this month, Mr Khan, who was elected in May, rebuked the Commissioner three times during a public meeting at City Hall.
Mr Khan has expressed anger over the fact he had not been consulted about the Met’s plans to introduce controversial “spit hoods” and Sir Bernard’s decision to allow a senior officer, Maxine De Brunner, to resign while under investigation for alleged misconduct.
Sir Bernard was appointed in September 2011 in the wake of the phone hacking scandal and London riots and was initially given a standard five-year contract.
Last year, he made it clear he wanted to stay on in the role and had been seeking a three-year extension.
But after widespread criticism over the Met’s handling of the Operation Midland investigation into allegations of VIP sex abuse he was only offered an initial 12 months more. Mr Khan could have chosen to extend the con- tract still further but sources said it had become increasingly apparent to Sir Bernard that that would not happen, prompting his decision to “go on his own terms”.
Both men yesterday continued to insist they had enjoyed a good working relationship, with Sir Bernard telling LBC Radio working 70 hours a week brought “its own stresses and strains”.
Thanking him for his work, Mr Khan said: “I have enjoyed working closely together with him over the past five months.”
During his time in the post Sir Bernard won plaudits for dealing with the aftermath of the London riots and successfully policing the 2012 Olympics. The Met has also managed to disrupt a number of potential terror attacks.
But his tenure may be remembered more for its numerous controversies. Next week Sir Bernard is to meet Sir Richard Henriques, who is preparing a report into the Met’s handling of Operation Midland, but he denied the timing of his retirement announcement was in any way connected.
Several names have emerged as potential successors. They include Lynne Owens, the former head of Surrey Police, Sara Thornton, the former head of Thames Valley Police, and Cressida Dick, former acting deputy commissioner in the Met.
The resignation of Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, brings to an end a controversial tenure. Whatever his reasons for going, he had cause to fear the forthcoming review of the Met’s handling of Operation Midland, which dealt with child abuse. Nothing better reflected Sir Bernard’s taste for publicity and his profound errors of judgment. Midland cost around £2.5 million and produced no convictions.
By coincidence, two other prominent legal careers have come under the spotlight this week. Ben Emmerson QC, the most senior lawyer working for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), was suspended from his job on Wednesday. Yesterday, Elizabeth Prochaska, the second most senior lawyer involved, resigned. The inquiry is said to be divided over issues of scope and workload. It has metastasised into a vague judgment on history. It lacks clear direction, its targets are imprecise. And flaws are evident in the sheer number of senior legal figures who have tried and failed to chair it.
This is what happens when justice is made to suit fashion and lawyers are asked to do the impossible to satisfy political whim. It would take a brave politician to recommend winding the IICSA down. One way forward might be to break it up into its constituent parts. There are five “workstreams” – all ridiculously broad, and each including many sub-investigations – ranging from abuse by celebrities to the infiltration of offenders into schools. Some sense of order has to be brought to this process. Otherwise it will only frustrate victims, and bring what should have been a moral enterprise into disrepute.