Cressida Dick is ‘unlikely’ to be given another term as Met chief amid continued anger at the policing of the Sarah Everard vigil – with Priti Patel and Sadiq Khan among critics
- Priti Patel is not expected to extend contract at Scotland Yard when it expires
- Britain’s most senior officer has been put on notice after huge condemnation
- Officers arrested and pinned down women at the Clapham Common vigil
Dame Cressida Dick’s tenure as chief of the Metropolitan Police is ‘unlikely’ to be renewed following the anger over her officers’ handling of Sarah Everard’s vigil.
Priti Patel is not expected to extend her contract at Scotland Yard when it expires in April next year, government sources claimed last night.
Britain’s most senior officer has been put on notice after widespread condemnation of how the Clapham Common memorial was policed last weekend.
Officers arrested and pinned down women attending the event in honour of the 33-year-old marketing executive Ms Everard.
Priti Patel (left) is not expected to extend Dame Cressida Dick’s (right) contract at Scotland Yard when it expires in April next year, government sources claimed last night
Britain’s most senior officer has been put on notice after widespread condemnation of how the Clapham Common memorial was policed last weekend
Dame Cressida faced calls to quit from across the political spectrum and was criticised by both the Home Secretary and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan.
Ms Patel said she was ‘shocked at the way in which Saturday night’s vigil was policed’, while Mr Khan was ‘not satisfied’ with Dame Cressida’s explanation.
Yet she refused to bow to pressure and lambasted ‘armchair’ critics who she said failed to grasp the complexities of policing during the pandemic.
However insiders believe last week’s saga was the final straw in what is being viewed in government as a mounting catalogue of blunders.
Dame Cressida came under fire last year for her handling of London’s Black Lives Matter protests, which spiralled into chaos and saw violence.
A source told The Times: ‘Cressida is not seen as having done a great job… The general expectation is that her contract won’t be extended.’
Patsy Stevenson, who was pictured being held on the floor by police at the vigil, said she was arrested ‘for standing there, I wasn’t doing anything’. Ms Stevenson has said she intends to protest at another demonstration on Monday
Ms Patel said she retained ‘full confidence’ in the Met comissioner and the source stressed the pair have a strong working relationship.
In the wake of the protests Mr Khan, who is up for reelection in May, said he did not believe the capital’s streets were safe for young women.
He told LBC: ‘No, they aren’t – or for girls – and it’s really important that people of my gender understand that.
‘If you’re a woman or a girl, your experiences of our city, in any public space, whether it’s in the workplace on the streets, on public transport is very different to if you are a man or a boy, and it’s really important that people like me in positions of power and influence understand that and take steps to address that.’
After last week’s protests Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called on the Commissioner to ‘consider’ her leadership of the force, adding: ‘Cressida Dick has lost the confidence of the millions of women in London and should resign.’
Women’s Equality Party co-founder Catherine Mayer said her position was ‘untenable’.