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Cressida Dick: Met Police commissioner to stand down in April

Cressida Dick will step down as commissioner of the Met Police next month, Home Secretary Priti Patel has confirmed.

Her current deputy, Sir Stephen House, will take over in the meantime pending the appointment of a new Met chief.

Dame Cressida resigned in February after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he had lost confidence in her leadership.

Ms Patel also announced a review of how the outgoing Chief Inspector of Police, Sir Tom Winsor, was handling the departure of Dame Cressida.

Dame Cressida had agreed to remain in the post until arrangements were finalized to appoint her successor and in a written statement to the Commons on Monday, Ms Patel said Sir Stephen was expected to cover until this summer.

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The Home Secretary said: “She deserves our deepest gratitude for her decades of public service and leadership in policing, as well as our best wishes for the future.

“Throughout her tenure as Commissioner, Dame Cressida has shown an exceptional commitment to the fight against crime in London and beyond, as the first woman to take on the role of Commissioner.”

She added: “The circumstances in which the outgoing MPS Commissioner is stepping down warrant a closer look at the legislation governing the Commissioner’s suspension and removal.”

The outgoing Chief Inspector of Police, Sir Tom Winsor, will conduct the review.

A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor is aware that the Met’s next leader must show he understands the depth of the problems the force is facing and has a plan to win the confidence of the to restore Londoners.”

Ms Patel said that “strong and determined new leadership will be needed to restore public confidence in the London police force”.

The nominees include Matt Jukes and Neil Basu, who are both currently Met deputy commissioners.

Dame Cressida said she had to step down from the role after the Mayor of London made it clear he had no faith in her leadership.

Incidents of sexism and misogyny among some Met officials followed. Last month police found “disgraceful” examples of bullying and sexual harassment at Charing Cross police station in central London.

Dame Cressida, the first woman to lead Britain’s largest police force, was also criticized last year for the murder of Sarah Everard by a sitting Met officer and a string of other scandals.

Beyond London, the Met is also responsible for national counter-terrorism policing, and Ms Patel said the commissioner is “a national leader with a crucial national role”.

Her successor will be appointed by the Home Secretary in consultation with the Mayor of London.

Prime Ministers have no formal role in appointing the Commissioner, but Boris Johnson has nonetheless been urged to stay out of the process entirely due to the Met’s ongoing investigation into lockdown parties at Downing Street.

The leader of the Home Affairs Committee, Diana Johnson, a Labor MP, said she hoped Mr Johnson “completely stays away from any discussion about who the new Commissioner should be”.

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