New job at the Met for former chief constable

0 Sir Stephen House quit as Scotland’s most senior police officer in 2015 The former chief constable of Scotland’s national force has taken up a post with the Metropolitan Police.

Sir Stephen House, who left Police Scotland in 2015, has been appointed as assistant commissioner with the London force and will begin work next month.

Hequitasscotland’smost senior police officer amid controversy over armed policing, stop-search and the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill following a crash on the M9.

Sir Stephen admitted Police Scotland had failed the couple’s families after their vehicle lay at the side of the road for three days when a call from a member of the public was not properly logged.

In his new position, Sir Stephen will look at the disclosure of evidence following the high-profile collapse of a rape case involving student Liam Allan, 22. Thousands of rape prosecutions are currently being reviewed by forces across England – including around 600 by the Met – in the wake of claims that officers may not have given all relevant evidence to defence teams.

The case against Mr Allan collapsed when it emerged that messages which cast doubt on the claims against him had not been provided to his lawyers.

Commissioner Cressida Dick, said: “There is a huge amount of transformation taking place within the Met and at the same time we are dealing with rising demand and big operational challenges.

“I’m really pleased to appoint Steve to this role. He brings huge operational experience having previously served at senior levels in the Met and been chief constable of Strathclyde Police and then Police Scotland.

“He has also led some huge change programmes, most notably bringing together eight forces to form Police Scotland.”

Sir Stephen said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to return to the Met, at such a busy and challenging time. I joined the police to serve the public and it is an honour to be able to return to the Met and work as part of a really talented team to protect the public and fight crime in London.”