Cressida Dick: Outgoing Met Police commissioner stands by record
- Published
Dame Cressida Dick: "I did not voluntarily resign"
Dame Cressida Dick will reflect on what more she and others could have done during her time as the Metropolitan Police commissioner, she has said.
The 61-year-old, who resigned in February, said that during her time in policing, the force had become "more diverse and more professional".
Allegations of dishonesty, prejudice and incompetence dogged the Met for much of her tenure as commissioner.
Her final day in the job will be Sunday, before she takes annual leave.
Her employment with the Met will formally end two weeks later.
Dame Cressida announced she would be standing down after a string of controversies, culminating in public outrage over the offensive behaviour of a group of officers based at Charing Cross police station.
Other scandals included the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer, the jailing of two PCs who took pictures of the bodies of murdered sisters Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman, and the Daniel Morgan report which criticised the Met's failure to tackle corruption.
The report found Dame Cressida had personally obstructed access to documents that the inquiry panel believed to be important - a claim she rejected.
Dame Cressida was appointed Met commissioner in 2017, becoming the first woman to hold the position
During a visit to the Metropolitan Police Specialist Training Centre in Gravesend, Kent, Dame Cressida reiterated that her resignation was not her decision, stating that London's mayor Sadiq Khan instigated change at the top of the force.
"The mayor of London is a democratically elected person. He has a job to do, he has certain responsibilities in relation to the Metropolitan Police Service.
"He caused me to say that I would step aside, I did not voluntarily resign. What happened in the run-up to that and subsequently in the last few weeks perhaps, I don't know, will be looked at by (HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary) Sir Tom Winsor."
The commissioner recently visited a café during a patrol with officers in Chingford, Essex
Her visit to Gravesend was part of a series of swansong outings during her final days in office.
She was applauded by firearms officers and public order officers who presented her with a certificate marking her 40 years of service.
She also thanked each officer and trainer at the centre, with many also thanking her in return for her leadership.
Speaking about whether she had any regrets, Dame Cressida told journalists: "I guess when I sit there, after I have left, I will look back and I will analyse further, what happened potentially, what I could have done or what others could have done in particular circumstances.
"But I'm really proud of what the Met has achieved in this time. I think London should know that it has a fantastic police service, a world-leading police service that people from all over the world come to see, that has improved.
"I joined 40 years ago, and in so many respects it's much more diverse, much more professional, bigger. And it is very determined to improve even further, and it will do."
Dame Cressida penned a "Letter to London", which was published earlier on Friday, in which she said she was "extremely optimistic about the Met's future, external".
Sir Stephen House will be the interim Metropolitan Police commissioner
Met Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House will serve as the force's acting commissioner while the recruitment process continues, with Dame Cressida's permanent successor expected to be appointed in the summer.
Earlier on Friday, at the launch of Labour's local election campaign in Barnet, north London, the mayor spoke about the outgoing commissioner.
Mr Khan said: "In the recent past, she's worked with many others to help us reduce violent crime but I'm not going to hide from the fact that I lost confidence in her.
"I'm not going to hide from the fact that we've had in our city a series of devastating scandals, overt racism, sexism, discrimination, homophobia; we've had trust and confidence from Londoners in the police service at rock bottom.
"It's one of the reasons why I lost confidence in her and it's one of the things I'll be looking for in a new commissioner, how they will address some of these serious issues that, frankly speaking, the current commissioner failed to address."