London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Sadiq Khan says new Met commissioner must admit to force’s failings

Sadiq Khan says new Met commissioner must admit to force’s failings

London mayor says appointee must understand extent of ‘cultural and organisational problems’ in Met
The London mayor, Sadiq Khan, has warned the candidates wanting to lead the Metropolitan police they must publicly admit the force’s systemic failings, with formal interviews due to begin next week.

Two senior police figures have reached the final stages of the process to be the commissioner of Britain’s biggest and most controversial force.

Khan used a speech to stress he would not support any candidate who did not commit to sweeping reforms.

As well as being the mayor, Khan is the elected police and crime commissioner for London. The head of the Met is formally appointed by the home secretary, who has to have due regard to the views of the mayor.

In practice, if the mayor declares he does not have confidence in a Met commissioner, they are expected to resign. In February Cressida Dick resigned after falling out with Khan, who was unconvinced she could turn the Met around after a series of scandals.

Khan said in his speech: “I want to make crystal clear today I won’t support the appointment of a new commissioner unless they can demonstrate they understand the true extent of the cultural and organisational problems within the Met.

“That they appreciate the moral and operational imperatives to confront them head on and that they have a convincing plan to reduce crime further, improve detection rates and bring more criminals to justice.”

The advert for the commissioner’s job, which was issued by the Home Office and the London mayor, made clear the need for radical reforms. After Khan’s speech government sources said there was little or no difference between the Conservatives and the Labour mayor on the need for an overhaul of the Met.

The candidates will be grilled next week by a panel chaired by Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary at the Home Office, and including the former chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor and a senior official from the mayor’s office.

Going before them will be assistant commissioner Nick Ephgrave, who was in the Met’s senior leadership from 2019 as a series of scandals unfolded.

He will have to convince the panel he can reform the culture of the force. After a serving Met officer was jailed in September 2021 for the kidnap and murder of Sarah Everard, Ephgrave said women anxious about a police officer who approached them on a street could wave down a bus. He did add the scandal meant the Met needed to “examine our own culture”.

The strong frontrunner is Sir Mark Rowley, who in 2018 left the Met having served as an assistant commissioner in charge of counter-terrorism. While in the force he impressed some with his calmness under the pressure of the wave of terror attacks in 2017. Before that role, he had backed the attempt for the Met to use water cannon to douse crowds.

Both candidates were previously chief constables of Surrey police, and regarded as able by policing colleagues.

In his speech Khan stressed the majority of Met officers did a great job, as he tried to deflect claims political manoeuvres by himself were damaging the force. “It’s not being political. It’s democracy in action. It’s the checks and balances of power, without which we’d still be living with the kind of policing we saw before the Stephen Lawrence inquiry,” he said.

The string of crises and dissatisfaction has led to a haemorrhaging of public confidence in the Met, according to polling conducted for the London mayor. The current Met leadership believe other polling has showed the public is happier with them. Multiple sources say the Met’s senior leadership believe the treatment of the force and its leadership has been unfair.

The Conservative government deterred assistant commissioner Neil Basu from applying, believing he was too outspoken on issues such as racial justice. Basu was seen as the frontrunner and would have been the first minority ethnic Briton to lead the Met. He was then also blocked from leading the National Crime Agency.

The panel interviews for the Met commissioner job will be followed by further grillings by the home secretary and Khan. The policing minister, Kit Malthouse, may also interview the candidates, and it is an open secret Downing Street, despite having no formal role, will also approve the choice of the next commissioner.

No decision is expected until July and the commissioner is technically appointed on a royal warrant by the Queen.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×