Blunkett attacked by ex-Met chief
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Your support makes all the difference.Lord Stevens, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, accuses Mr Blunkett of leaking the contents of private meetings, and of knowing "very little about policing". He also reveals that his former political master had accused him of "overreacting" to a terror threat less than two years before the July bomb attacks in London.
The extracts from Lord Stevens's book, Not for the Faint-Hearted, serialised in today's News of The World under the headline "Liar Blunkett tried to stab me in the back", threaten to bring Mr Blunkett's political revival to an end. He returned to the Cabinet months after being forced to resign as a result of an affair and was being tipped to return to the Home Office.
The former Met chief also said Mr Blunkett destroyed the good work done by Jack Straw, his predecessor, leading to protests by 14,000 officers. He said: "Many felt he took office ready-armed with an anti-police agenda."
Lord Stevens wrote that after one tense meeting with the then Home Secretary, stories appeared in the media. "There were only three people in that office - myself, the Home Secretary and his dog," he wrote. "And it didn't come from the dog."
Mr Blunkett said last night: "Sir John was an excellent Commissioner ... I wish him well in seeking to sell his book and take great comfort from the fact that our work together dramatically improved the policing of London."
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