The controversies that dogged Dame Cressida Dick’s career as Met commissioner

The first woman to lead Britain’s biggest force said she had ‘no choice’ but to resign after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had no confidence in her.

Dame Cressida Dick ‘felt intimidated’ into stepping down as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in February this year following an ultimatum from London Sadiq Khan (Jonathan Brady/PA) (PA Wire)

Dame Cressida Dick, who stepped down as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in February, was no stranger to controversy during her time in the role.

The first woman to lead Britain’s biggest force, Dame Cressida said she was left with “no choice” but to resign after London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he had no confidence in her leadership following the publication of a damning report into racism, homophobia and misogyny at Charing Cross police station.

But an independent review by Sir Thomas Winsor, published on Friday, has now found Dame Cressida “felt intimidated” into stepping down following the mayor’s ultimatum and that due process was not followed.

Despite accolades, including being made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in prime minister Theresa May’s resignation honours, Dame Cressida’s tenure as commissioner was marred by scandal.

Prior to being made leader of the Met in 2017, she was head of the operation that led to the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes in Stockwell in 2005.

While commissioner, she faced criticism over the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens, and the subsequent treatment by police of mourners at a vigil in Clapham Common.

Two inquiries are now under way looking at the culture within the Met – one by Baroness Casey which was organised by the force itself, and a Home Office probe headed by Dame Elish Angiolini into the failures in the Everard case.

– The Charing Cross report

A report by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) revealed highly offensive language used on WhatsApp and in Facebook chats by officers from a now disbanded team based in Westminster, primarily at Charing Cross police station.

The watchdog took the unusual step of publishing the messages in full, despite many of them being too offensive to print as part of mainstream news coverage, because it said it was important for the public to know.

Officers made repeated jokes about rape, domestic violence, violent racism, and used homophobic language and derogatory terms for disabled people.

One officer bragged about having sex with a sex worker he met while on duty.

Mr Khan put Dame Cressida “on notice” following the exposure of the messages, before eventually forcing her to resign by saying he had lost confidence in her leadership.

– Wayne Couzens

Ex-Pc Wayne Couzens was handed a whole-life term in September 2021 after kidnapping, raping and murdering Sarah Everard.

Couzens abducted the 33-year-old as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.

The Metropolitan Police firearms officer, who had been “hunting” for a victim, used his warrant card and handcuffs to snatch the marketing executive off the street using Covid lockdown rules to make a false arrest.

Couzens had been assigned to the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection branch of the force, which protects Government buildings and the Palace of Westminster.

Home Secretary Priti Patel later launched an inquiry into the crime.

Dame Elish Angiolini’s inquiry will examine whether any “red flags were missed” earlier in Couzens’ career.

– Sarah Everard vigil

Reclaim These Streets (RTS) proposed a socially-distanced vigil for Ms Everard, close to where she went missing in Clapham, south London, in March last year.

However, they were denied permission to hold the organised vigil, with police citing coronavirus regulations that were in place at the time.

Instead, a spontaneous vigil took place, which ended with police forcibly clearing women from the scene.

The Met was heavily criticised for its actions, but later cleared by a police watchdog.

The report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services concluded that officers “acted appropriately” when dealing with the event, but also found it was a “public relations disaster” and described some statements made by members of the force as “tone deaf”.

– The death of Daniel Morgan

Private investigator Daniel Morgan was killed with an axe in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham, south-east London, on March 10 1987, and a string of unsuccessful investigations into his death have been mired in claims of corruption.

In June this year, an independent report accused the Met of institutional corruption over its handling of the case, saying it had concealed or denied failings to protect its reputation.

Dame Cressida apologised to Mr Morgan’s family, saying it was a “matter of great regret that no-one has been brought to justice and that our mistakes have compounded the pain suffered by Daniel’s family”.

– Photos of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman

Former Metropolitan Police constables Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis were jailed for two years and nine months each last December for taking photographs of the bodies of Bibaa Henry, 46, and Nicole Smallman, 27, and sharing them with friends and colleagues on WhatsApp.

Jaffer and Lewis had been assigned to guard the scene after the sisters were found dead in bushes in Fryent Country Park, Wembley, north-west London, in June 2020.

Instead, the officers moved from their posts to take photos of the bodies, which were then shared with colleagues and friends on WhatsApp.

One was a “selfie-style” image on which Lewis had superimposed his face.

The officers’ behaviour also included describing the victims as “dead birds” on WhatsApp groups.

Afterwards, the Met apologised to the victims’ family for the defendants’ “shameful” and “utterly unprofessional” actions.