Bernard Hogan-Howe picked as new Met police commissioner

Former Merseyside chief constable sees off three rivals to become the most senior officer in British policing Bernard Hogan-Howe has been chosen as the new commissioner of the Metropolitan police. The selection was made by the home secretary, Theresa May. Hogan-Howe was believed to have been the candidate favoured by the Conservatives . After the resignation in July of Sir Paul Stephenson as commissioner, May drafted in Hogan-Howe as acting temporary deputy of the Met. He had been serving in Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, and before that had made his name as the chief constable of Merseyside police. Final interviews for the £260,000-a-year job were conducted on Monday morning by May and Boris Johnson, the London mayor. A formal announcement will be made later. Hogan-Howe beat three other police chiefs to become the most senior officer in British policing: Sir Hugh Orde, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers; Tim Godwin, the acting Met commissioner; and Stephen House, chief constable of Strathclyde police. Two official panels that formed part of the selection process had both assessed Orde as the best candidate . But his public criticism of the government’s proposed radical reforms of policing is thought to have cost him the job. In Hogan-Howe’s five years in charge of the Merseyside force, crime fell by 29% and antisocial behaviour by 25%. He branded his style of law enforcement “total policing”, inspired by the “total football” played by Dutch teams in the 1970s. The post of Met commissioner is technically made by royal appointment. The Queen, who is in Balmoral, was consulted as part of the appointment process and will sign a warrant formally appointing Hogan-Howe. He becomes the third Met commissioner in three years. Under Johnson’s administration, first Sir Ian Blair and then Stephenson have resigned. Hogan-Howe had applied for the job in 2009, when the final two candidates were Orde and Stephenson. The change of government helped his cause this time round. The new commissioner faces the challenge of next year’s Olympics in London, placating politicians and his own rank-and-file officers, and dealing with large budget cuts. Metropolitan police London Police Vikram Dodd guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 12, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.