Terror police chief to retire as calls grow for inquiry
THE senior Scotland Yard officer who locked himself in his car during the Westminster terror attack is due to retire within weeks, as pressure mounts on the police watchdog to investigate.
Deputy Commissioner Sir Craig Mackey will step down in December after 34 years’ service. But his admis- sion that he failed to intervene when he witnessed Khalid Masood murdering Pc Keith Palmer has sparked anger.
Sir Craig said his “instinct” was to get out of the car, but he had been in a short sleeved shirt with no equipment.
A number of Sir Craig’s former colleagues have said the matter ought to be investigated. The Metropolitan Po- lice has resisted calls to refer the matter to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). But sources said the matter was likely to be reviewed due to the strength of feeling since Sir Craig’s evidence at the Westminster inquest.
Peter Bleksley, a former undercover detective with the Met, described Sir Craig’s lack of action as “utterly unforgivable”. Writing on Twitter, he said: “His self-serving and cowardly actions epitomise why so many rank and file distrust and revile some senior managers. Mackey, you are a disgrace.”
After Sir Craig retires, IOPC investigators would no longer be able to compel him to participate in any misconduct investigation.
SIR – Is it any surprise that the police have lost all credibility when a senior police officer (report, October 9), witnessing a violent and murderous attack, instead of intervening locks the doors of his car and leaves the scene? Andrew Dyke
London N21
SIR – If a young bobby on the beat had seen his colleague being attacked with a knife and got into his car, locked the door and driven off, would he still be in the force? And if he was, could he look his colleagues in the eye? Patrick Fuller
Upper Farringdon. Hampshire
SIR – When I joined the Metropolitan Police in 1982, all we had was a whistle and a wooden truncheon for protection. This never prevented officers putting themselves in danger when the situation arose, as this was their oath of office as a constable.
When I look at those events on that awful day at Westminster and see that Tobias Elwood MP ran immediately towards the scene, and rendered first aid with no thought to his personal safety, it highlights even more Sir Craig Mackey’s sheer lack of instinct.
I would suggest he failed to uphold the oath of his office as a constable.
I am in touch with many retired and serving officers who reflect my own feelings about this officer’s actions. Charles Walker
Gedney Dyke, Lincolnshire
SIR – I read with interest Allison Pearson’s comments (Features, October 10) on the death of Pc Keith Palmer and the inaction of Sir Craig Mackey. It is easy to criticise Sir Craig, but I cannot but reflect on my own experience as a young police sergeant in the Royal Ulster Constabulary at the time of the murder of constable Michael Ferguson by the IRA in 1993. I regard him as one of the finest officers I had the privilege to know.
Although in charge of the unit in Londonderry to which Michael belonged, I was performing staff officer duties that precluded my being with my “team”. Almost every day over the past 25 years I have wondered if I could have made a difference had I been there.
Surely it has come full circle when we as a society expect a true police force rather than the politicised “service” that policing has become. Sir Craig Mackey is only one example of failed leadership over the years. It’s time we supported our brave police instead of decrying their leadership. Crawford Robinson
Twickenham, Middlesex
SIR – As a retired police officer, I am appalled by the lack of action by the deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police when one of his officers was murdered.
Why is he not the subject of a discipline inquiry for neglect of duty? He apparently witnessed a serious crime taking place but did nothing to try to prevent it or to arrest the perpetrator. Dr Robert Richards
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire