Khan ‘urged Cressida Dick to break the law’
Mayor of London was more concerned with his career than the leadership of the police, report finds
Sadiq Khan urged Dame Cressida Dick to break the law by sacking all the police officers involved in the Charing Cross racism scandal in order to protect his own political fortunes, a damning report has concluded. A review into events leading up to the resignation of the Met commissioner earlier this year found she was in effect “constructively dismissed” by the Mayor of London, who was also accused of “intimidating” her during her final weeks in the job.
SADIQ KHAN urged Dame Cressida Dick to break the law by sacking all the police officers involved in the Charing Cross racism scandal in order to protect his own political fortunes, a damning report has concluded.
A review into events leading up to the resignation of the former Met commissioner earlier this year found she was in effect “constructively dismissed” by the Mayor of London, who was also accused of “intimidating” her during her final weeks in the job.
Sir Tom Winsor, who was asked to investigate the way the matter was handled, said Mr Khan had not followed due process and had left Dame Cressida with “no option” but to step down as the head of Scotland Yard in February.
In a 116-page report, the former chief inspector of constabulary accused the mayor of encouraging the former commissioner to go beyond her legal powers and sack Met officers accused of exchanging racist, misogynistic and homophobic messages.
In a meeting on Feb 2, Mr Khan allegedly told Dame Cressida the public would support her if she sacked the officers, even if it meant having to compensate them for wrongful dismissal.
In his report, Sir Tom said: “The commissioner said she was amazed that the Mayor, himself a lawyer, should make this demand since he must understand the importance of acting correctly. She added that if she complied with the Mayor’s purported direction to her, she would be successfully legally challenged, and that she must uphold the law.”
According to the report, the mayor allegedly said: “Your job is to uphold the criminal law. Don’t worry about the civil law. Let them JR [ judicially review] you. The public will support it.”
Sir Tom suggested Mr Khan was more interested in his political fortunes than the leadership of the Met.
He wrote: “No political office-holder should ever seek to persuade or pressure an independent public servant to act contrary to the law, still less on the basis of political expediency.”
Dame Cressida had been under pressure following a series of scandals, which included the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer.
At the beginning of February, a report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct exposed racist, misogynistic and homophobic Whatsapp messages shared by officers at Charing Cross police station.
The Mayor expressed his anger that some of those implicated were still serving, while two had been promoted, and called Dame Cressida to a meeting on Feb 10 to hear how she intended to address his concerns.
Dame Cressida did not attend and announced her decision to stand down soon after.
Responding to the review, Dame Cressida said: “Sir Tom has written a highly detailed and forensic account of the circumstances surrounding my departure.
“He found the mayor did not follow due process and at times his behaviour was oppressive, unreasonable, entirely unacceptable and unfair.
“At all times I sought to uphold the law and act ethically and with goodwill, professionalism, openness and trust. I fully respect the need for democratic oversight of policing. It is also important that politicians respect due process and do not break the rules.”
Mr Khan said of Sir Tom’s report: “Londoners will be able to see that this review is clearly biased and ignores the facts. On the former commissioner’s watch, trust in the police fell to record lows following a litany of terrible scandals. What happened was simple – I lost confidence in the former commissioner’s ability to make the changes needed and she then chose to stand aside.”