Deputy mayor: We control the Met now
By Jon Ashford
Boris Johnson’s team has its “hands on the tiller” of the Metropolitan police, according to comments from deputy mayor Kit Malthouse.
In a bold statement to the Guardian, Kit Malthouse, one of Mr Johnsons deputy mayors, claimed the Home Office had now been fully ousted from the driving seat.
London’s policing priorities are now set by collaboration between with the major’s office and senior police management, he went on.
The comments serve to clarify the resignation of former police commissioner Sir Ian Blair last year, after Boris Johnson publicly declared his refusal to work with him.
A Home Office spokesperson objected strongly to Mr Malthouse’s claims, telling politics.co.uk: “Obviously the Home Office sets all policing priorities and the Met is no exception.”
“If you read the article you can see he contradicts himself on the issue of police politicisation, saying the police shouldn’t be politicised then going on to say the police should be politically controlled like the NHS.”
When asked about Mr Malthouse’s statements, a spokesperson for the London mayor’s Office told politics.co.uk the Guardian piece had been “hugely overwritten” and the deputy mayor was simply reiterating his “strong focus towards fighting crime”.
The spokesperson added: “There has been a refocus. For the first time we have a mayor who is also chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, which shows how seriously he takes policing.”
Former home secretary Jacqui Smith was said to be livid by the manner in which Mr Johnson expanded his power in the Met, with the resignation of Sir Ian triggering a power struggle over the capital’s police force.
