Sir Ian Blair is resigned

[Filuwaúrdjan]

That's the (now former) head of the Met, for those that don't know.

[minionofmidas]

About time.

[afleitch]

About time.

^^^^^^^^^

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The chief constable of West Yorkshire has said that he won't accept the post of Met commissioner because of fears of (and anger at what he sees as) "political interference". Article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7651738.stm

[afleitch]

Iain Blair's position has been untenable for a long time now. The fact it was Boris who 'pushed first' has probably saved the government the responsibility (though the government was never going to sack Blair, unless the De Menezes verdict turned out to be severely damaging and a convenient excuse was found). Jacqui Smith's posturing is simply over the usurping of political power, not the fact Blair was removed. She should learn a lesson from those who have been forced to deal with Salmond and hold fire now or else watch BoJo's popularity take an upswing in the aftershock.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Iain Blair's position has been untenable for a long time now.

True. Which is why I'm not annoyed that he's, basically, been sacked; if anything the power politics played around and over him (you remember that party-line vote on censuring him... I mean even one of the Greenies vote in favour of him... Christ...) was the main reason for him lasting as long as he did.

I'm a little concerned that Johnson is now the chairman of the Met police authority though (something I didn't learn until, uh, yesterday). That just doesn't look healthy and I'm surprised it's allowed.

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What about Sir Norman Bettison's posturing?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

The Guardian has apparently decided to be unto Johnson what the Evening Standard was to Livingstone: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/oct/03/blair.conservatives

Take with as much or little salt as your political preferences and general biases prescribe.

Oh, and this is what Livingstone himself thinks; http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/oct/03/police.london

Read between the lines.