Sir Mark Rowley is announced next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
Sir Mark Rowley has today been named the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police by Priti Patel and Sadiq Khan who have backed him to turn around the failing force.
Scotland Yard’s former head of counterterrorism and ex-Surrey chief constable has beaten Nick Ephgrave, a Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner, to the £292,000-a-year job.
The Met was put into special measures last month after a devastating inspection revealed a catalogue of new failures including officers failing to record tens of thousands of crimes, ignoring almost all victims of anti-social behaviour, letting down vulnerable victims and neglected a huge backlog of online child abuse referrals.
He replaces Cressida Dick, who was forced to quit in February following a torrid year of scandals which saw the murder of Sarah Everard by one of her officers, the force being branded ‘institutionally corrupt’ by an independent inquiry and two officers jailed for photographing bodies of murder victims.
Sir Mark said today: ‘Our mission is to lead the renewal of policing by consent which has been so heavily dented in recent years as trust and confidence have fallen.
‘We will deliver more trust, less crime and high standards for London and beyond and we will work with London’s diverse communities as we together renew the uniquely British invention of ‘policing by consent’.’
Mark Rowley, pictured in 2017 when he was Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner in charge of counter-terrorism, will replace Cressida Dick
Priti Patel has backed Sir Mark to turn around the force weeks after inspectors found it was failing badly
Sir Mark said he was ‘deeply honoured’ to take up the role.
He said: ‘Our mission is to lead the renewal of policing by consent which has been so heavily dented in recent years as trust and confidence have fallen.
‘I am grateful that the Home Secretary and Mayor are both determined to support the urgent reforms we need to deliver successful community crimefighting in today’s fast moving world. These reforms include our use of technology and data, our culture and our policing approach. We will fight crime with communities – not unilaterally dispense tactics.
‘I also know that the majority of officers and staff retain an extraordinary sense of vocation and determination and want us to do better. It is my job to help them do that, whilst also being ruthless in removing those who are corrupting our integrity’.
His appointment has been agreed by Tory Home Secretary Priti Patel and Labour’s London Mayor Sadiq Khan after they clashed over Ms Dick’s departure when Mayor Khan pulled the plug and forced her to resign.
Ms Patel said: ‘Sir Mark Rowley is a distinguished and exceptionally experienced police officer, having served the people of the West Midlands and Surrey before guiding the capital through some of its most challenging moments in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks, as the Met’s then head of counter-terrorism.
‘He now takes on one of the most important and demanding jobs in policing, leading the country’s largest force at a time when public trust in the Metropolitan Police has been severely undermined by a number of significant failings. Rebuilding public trust and delivering on crime reduction must be his priority’.
Mayor Khan said: ‘A series of appalling scandals have not only exposed deep cultural problems within the Met, but have contributed to a crisis of confidence in London’s police service.
Sir Mark has made clear to me that he is determined to be a reforming Commissioner, committed to implementing a robust plan to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and to drive through the urgent reforms and step change in culture and performance Londoners deserve.
‘As Mayor, I will support and hold him to these promises as I continue to hold the Met to account’.
The news comes less than two weeks after the force was put into special measures by the police watchdog.
A letter from HMICFRS cited numerous fiascos at Britain’s largest force, including the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, the ‘racially profiled’ stop and search of the Team GB sprinter Bianca Williams, and the strip-search of a 15-year-old black schoolgirl known as Child Q.
It follows further scandals, including the failure to properly investigate serial killer Stephen Port and the revelation of racist WhatsApp messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross Police Station.
Other calamities included the jailing of two officers for taking photos of the corpses of murdered sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry, and Operation Midland – the disastrous probe into fake claims of VIP paedophilia.
The force was also heavily criticised for failing to stop Extinction Rebellion protests from shutting down London, with videos of officers dancing with protesters sparking claims the force was not taking the issue seriously.
Sir Mark replaces he Met’s scandal ravaged former commissioner, Cressida Dick, who stepped down in February after Sadiq Khan said he no longer had confidence in her
Sarah Everard was murdered by Metropolitan Police officer Wayne Couzens, in a crime that appalled Britain.
The chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation hailed the arrival of Sir Mark Rowley as the force’s new Commissioner today.
Ken Marsh, who heads the union of the rank-and-file Met officers, said: ‘I welcome Sir Mark Rowley as the new commissioner, I think he’s the right man for the job.
‘I, and my colleagues, are pleased that the position has been filled because the void was harming us during a very difficult period, especially with the force being put into special measures.
‘What we would ask for now is for the Mayor and the politicians to back off and stop the incessant attacks and let Sir Mark get on with the job in hand to deliver results for the people of London.’
Sir Mark is a familiar figure after leading the Met’s counter-terrorism operations for four years. Although he resigned from the police in 2018, Sir Mark is still only 58 and has been tempted back by the biggest job in British policing.
He served as chief constable of Surrey for three years to 2011 before he joined the Met as an assistant commissioner for seven years having starting on the beat in Birmingham in 1987.
When at Surrey he was the lead officer in the hunt for Milly Dowler.
He later admitted that his detectives were aware at the time of Milly’s disappearance that her mobile phone was hacked by someone working at the News of the World.
Sir Mark said a call made from the paper to the operation room leading the investigation in 2002 made it clear her voicemail had been accessed.
But officers merely ‘focused on retrieving any evidence the NotW had that could assist in the investigation into Milly Dowler’s disappearance’ as that was the priority, he said.
His career in policing spans over 30 years, during which time he has transformed national security and policing.
As Chief Constable, he lifted the public confidence levels in Surrey to the highest in the country.
After joining the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Mark transformed the approach to UK counter-terrorism and policing gangs, increasing community engagement and workforce diversity, leading the police response to the London terror attacks of 2017 and reducing shootings and murders in London to an all-time low.
He also led reform in policing of public order, organised crime and fraud, launching the 200 strong Op Falcon team to combat the growth of online fraud and cybercrime.
Since leaving policing in 2018 he has worked in specialist security projects and on technology/data led transformation with ‘start-ups’ and the world’s largest professional services company. He has focused on: countering extremism and racism, online safety, institutional integrity and illicit finance.
Revealed: Year after year of failings at Britain’s largest force
OPERATION MIDLAND
In 2014 the notorious Operation Midland was sanctioned by Dame Cressida Dick, who later went on to become Scotland Yard commissioner.
Five years later, when the embarrassing operation began seriously unravelling, she refused to allow an inquiry into the conduct of officers involved.
This was despite former High Court judge Sir Richard Henriques revealing how officers had used false evidence to obtain a search warrant for the raids. Dame Cressida said that an inquiry would be ‘completely improper’.
A report in 2020 found the Metropolitan Police was more interested in covering up mistakes than learning from them.
Dame Cressida was also slammed by the families of victims of VIP paedophile ring fantasist Carl Beech, whose spurious allegations were investigated by police – ruining the lives and reputations of those he accused
The Hampshire home of the Queen’s confidant, Lord Bramall – who was also former head of the Armed Forces – had been invaded by police with search warrants in the early hours on the basis of spurious allegations of abuse by paedophile Carl Beech, a palpable fantasist.
After the Daily Mail exposed him, Beech was jailed. Before he died, D-Day hero Lord Bramall told his son Nick that ‘he had never been so mortally wounded, even in battle’.
Former Tory MP Harvey Proctor, who received a substantial payout after his life was ruined by the disastrous paedophile inquiry, last night expressed his delight at Dame Cressida’s downfall.
He was among seven high-profile victims of the Met – including Baroness Lawrence, whose son Stephen’s 1993 murder investigation was botched by racist officers – who last year came together in a Mail interview to accuse Dame Cressida of having ‘presided over a culture of incompetence’.
Wayne Couzens
SARAH EVERARD
In March last year, 33-year-old marketing executive Sarah Everard was abducted, raped and murdered by serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens.
It then emerged Couzens had not been vetted properly and Met officers had failed to investigate after he was reported flashing women days before the murder.
But perhaps the worst moment for Dame Cressida Dick was her officers’ heavy-handed policing of a vigil for the murdered woman at Clapham Common in South London.
Photographs of protesting women being pinned down by arresting officers who cited Covid restrictions on gatherings were published around the world, sparking condemnation.
When Couzens was convicted, it was dubbed Scotland Yard’s ‘darkest day’. Dame Cressida stood outside the Old Bailey and humbly admitted the murder had corroded trust in the police and brought ‘shame’ on her force.
MURDER PHOTOS
In December last year, two Scotland Yard officers who took photos of the bodies of two murder victims were jailed.
The sisters who died – Nicole Smallman, 27, and 46-year-old Bibaa Henry, were black and there were accusations of racism. 2021 was also the force’s worst ever year for teenage killings, with 30 deaths.
Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, who were stabbed to death in Wembley last year
Further mock-ups of messages sent by a male officer during another shocking conversation on WhatsApp
CHARING CROSS
Earlier this year, details emerged of horrific messages exchanged by officers at Charing Cross police station, by an official watchdog report.
Some 14 officers were investigated as a result, with two found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct.
One was sacked and another resigned before he would have been dismissed. Another two had already left, while in some of the other cases the Independent Office of Police Conduct found ‘no further action should be taken’.
Incredibly, nine officers kept their jobs and two were promoted – but their sickening WhatsApp messages exposed an ongoing culture of racism, sexism and bullying.
It appears this sickening episode was the straw which finally broke the back. For, by the end, it was clear that confidence in the police chief had gone.
XR PROTESTS
In 2019, the force was widely condemned for its ‘light-touch’ policing of Extinction Rebellion protests, which blocked several key areas of London.
Under her watch, career eco-activists from XR and its off-shoot Insulate Britain were given free rein to cause mayhem.
Ambulances were stopped from getting through, while businesses and workers were forced to halt their activities.
A low point came when police were filmed asking road-blocking protesters if they needed anything – rather than just arresting them.
DANIEL MORGAN
Perhaps the most jaw-dropping condemnation of Dame Cressida came in June of last year when an official report described her force as ‘institutionally corrupt’.
And far from blaming the fiasco on a predecessor, it concluded that she had personally placed ‘hurdles’ in the way of a search for the truth about the death of Daniel Morgan – a private investigator who was brutally murdered in a south London pub car park in 1987.
Daniel Morgan was investigating claims of corruption within the Metropolitan Police when he was murdered in 1987 – and the force failed him and his family ever since. His brother Alastair told the media that Cressida Dick should resign
Dame Cressida was accused of ‘obfuscation’ for thwarting the Morgan inquiry team’s attempts to access sensitive documents, leading to delays that cost the taxpayer millions. The report by Baroness O’Loan found that Scotland Yard was ‘institutionally corrupt’.
The Met has never found Mr Morgan’s murderer, but there were long-standing allegations of police corruption over the killing and the aftermath.
Mr Morgan’s brother Alastair also joined Baroness Lawrence, Harvey Proctor and Lord Bramall in a devastating and unprecedented joint interview with the Daily Mail.
They all signed a letter to the PM demanding Dame Cressida’s resignation. Instead she clung on.
Stephen Port
STEPHEN PORT
An inquest jury ruled in December that failures by Met detectives contributed to the deaths of a serial killer’s three final victims.
Stephen Port killed four men, all aged in their early 20s, by giving them overdoses of the date rape drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB) at his east London home between June 2014 and September 2015.
He was jailed for life at the Old Bailey in 2016 for the murders and a string of sex assaults.
The inquest found police failed to carry out even basic checks after each murder.
A solicitor for the victims’ families said the Met’s actions were driven in part by homophobia.
Last week watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced it will re-investigate the Met’s handling of the case.
BIANCA WILLIAMS
In April it emerged that five Met officers are to face a gross misconduct hearing over their stop and search of Team GB athlete Bianca Williams in 2020.
The sprinter and partner Ricardo Dos Santos, the Portuguese athlete, were stopped in their car in west London, and separated from their three-month-old son who was in the back of the vehicle.
Nothing illegal was found in the search and the couple, who are black, claim they were racially profiled.
STRIP SEARCHES
Last month the IOPC confirmed it was investigating a series of cases which involved teenage girls who were on their period being strip-searched by Met officers.
Two of the cases, involving a black girl named only as ‘Child Q’ and a mixed race girl known as ‘Olivia’, took place in December 2020. A third case is also under scrutiny.
Child Q was strip-searched at her school in Hackney, east London, by two female after being wrongly suspected of carrying drugs.