Controversy after controversy: Sadiq Khan will ‘hold the Met to account’

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The Chancellor’s proposed cuts to income tax will “disproportionately benefit” society’s wealthiest, according to an analysis by the GLA.
The Chancellor’s proposed cuts to income tax will “disproportionately benefit” society’s wealthiest, according to an analysis by the GLA.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan will “hold the Met to account” after confidence in the capital’s police force plummeted amid a slew of controversies.

“The Mayor is determined to continue to hold the Met to account to deliver the changes needed to rebuild and increase the trust and confidence of all Londoners in their police service,” a spokesperson told City PM

“Dame Louise Casey is leading the independent review into the Met’s culture and standards, which is just the start of the long, but absolutely vital process of restoring the confidence of women and all Londoners in our police.”

A new report published yesterday found “worrying evidence” that trust and confidence in the Met police had materially worsened over the past year.

It comes with the first part of the inquiry into Sarah Everard’s murder is underway – while the Met faces legal action over its refusal to investigate the Downing Street Christmas Party allegations.

The study said: “We can only speculate as to the causes of this but policing in London has been at the centre of a number of controversies in recent months, including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the policing of protest and an increased focus on the impact of policing on Black communities.”

The behaviour of Met officers and the force’s behaviour institutionally has been increasingly under the looking glass in recent months.

Just yesterday Met officer David Carrick charged with six counts of rape, taking to total number of charges he faces to 29, the Crown Prosecution Services confirmed.

The study by the Police Foundation and Crest Advisory also found that a “Covid-19 dividend”, an opportunity granted to officers during the UK’s lockdowns where streets were quiet, failed to materialise in tracking down drug kingpins.

Officers were instead caught up in policing Covid-19 laws, a rise in anti-social behaviour, protests from groups such as Black Lives Matter and policing small-scale drug dealers instead of their bosses.