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| Britain |
| Senior British police chief resigns |
| 2008-10-03 |
| Britain's most senior police officer has resigned after criticism of his leadership and his handling of major investigations including terrorism cases. Ian Blair, commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police, said he was stepping down 16 months before his five-year contract was due to expire. He said on Thursday: "Without the mayor's backing I do not think I can continue in the job." Blair said Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, who took over as chairman of the police authority on Wednesday, had told him he wanted a "change in leadership". The decision follows months of negative headlines surrounding the 55-year-old, particularly over the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, a Brazilian electrician killed at a London railway station in July 2005 by police who had mistaken him for a suicide bomber. There have been questions about his handling of events surrounding the shooting. Regularly criticised Blair has also been embroiled in a high-profile row with the force's most senior Asian officer, Tarique Ghaffur, the assistant commissioner, who has accused him of racial discrimination. The Times newspaper had said that ministers and other police chiefs were secretly preparing plans to remove Blair, who has been dogged by controversy since taking over in February 2005. Blair has regularly been criticised in the media. Questions had also been raised over a series of IT contracts worth £3m ($5.3m) awarded to Impact Plus, a consultancy owned by his long-time friend Andy Miller. Jacqui Smith, the interior minister, said Paul Stephenson, the deputy commissioner, will take over as acting head of the Met. |
| Posted by:Fred |