There won't be many policemen on the beat mourning the passing of Sir Ian Blair. He was always a political copper - Tony Blair's best friend in the force, determined to ingratiate himself with New Labour, thoroughly apprised of the need for PR tactics etc. Given that political pedigree - the same sort that saw Alastair Campbell's 'best mate' John Scarlett eventually promoted to head up MI6 - it is a bit rich for the under-whelming Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to talk about the dangers of politicising police apointments. That was done when Blair took office.That the Met Commissioner didn't have the confidence of the new Mayor speaks only favourably of the mayor. Blair has presided over some truly appalling errors - the killing of Jean Charles Menenez being merely the most tragic - and has, moreover, shown little sign that he really appreciates this. He may agonise about his public persona, but he has agonised precious little about where his wretched leadership has been taking the Met. To maintain the capital that this act has given him, Boris doesn't need to suggest a political appointment to succeed Blair - he merely needs to engage the services of a good copper who understands the job.
2 comments:
My dad is a policeman on the beat, he's in mourning...But then we are both still mourning the loss of the other Blair.
London is a lot safer now than it was when Blair was appointed, Menenez was his Iraq and unfortunately overshadowed a lot of the great things he did for london.
Likewise Giles, I'm uncertain where your generalisation came from. I recently had drinks with a young police inspector, who seemed to be a great fan of Sir Ian.
Boris Johnson made it clear during his election campaign that he was opposed to Blair continuing in his post, for no good reason given he'd never had any direct experience of working with him. When an elected politician takes it upon himself to force out the head of a supposedly independent police force, it is troubling indeed.
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