Cressida Dick: Sadiq Khan and Sir Tom Winsor clash over Met chief's exit

Dame Cressida Dick resigned after losing the confidence of Sadiq Khan

London's mayor has clashed with the author of a report which concluded the former Metropolitan Police commissioner "felt intimidated" into stepping down.

The findings of Sir Tom Winsor's report into Dame Cressida Dick's departure were disputed by Sadiq Khan at a London Assembly police and crime committee.

Mr Khan branded the investigation as "biased" and said it "ignored facts".

"The idea I have political affections or allegiances is absurd," Sir Tom said.

He added he had been a Labour member "on and off for 30 years".

"In 1999 when I was appointed as rail regulator I was appointed by John Prescott, who was hardly some soft left, New Labour apparatchik."

Dame Cressida previously said she had to resign after the Labour mayor made it clear in February he had no confidence in her leadership.

It followed cases of sexism and misogyny among some Met officers, as well as several other controversies.

Mr Khan told the committee that Dame Cressida, who had previously agreed a two-year extension until 2024, "did not get two years' salary" upon leaving.

Sir Tom Winsor and Sadiq Khan appeared at City Hall

In February, then-Home Secretary Priti Patel asked Sir Tom - the then-chief inspector of constabulary - to look at the circumstances surrounding Dame Cressida's resignation.

Sir Tom Winsor's 116-page report into the handling of Dame Cressida's exit found that Labour mayor Mr Khan did not follow "due process" when he withdrew his support.

"I take issue with the mayor in terms of the degree and quality of engagement," said Sir Tom, who added the mayor was responsible for a delay in the report's publication from six weeks to nearly six months.

"The degree of engagement was remarkably slight," he told the committee. He said 90 minutes "was not nearly enough time" with Mr Khan, whom he said he was unable to interview alone.

He contrasted this with Dame Cressida, who saw him for five hours face to face.

• The crises and controversies of Cressida Dick

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• Cressida Dick: 'She should have been treated better'

Sir Tom's published findings noted that the mayor's actions were "not in accordance with the relevant legislation".

At City Hall, Sir Tom reiterated his view the mayor's actions were an "abuse of power, a political ambush".

Mr Khan said: "The view of me and others is that the process is flawed. We all know it's a matter of public record, Sir Tom's close association with the former commissioner.

"We all know Sir Tom's close association with former home secretaries. In Sir Tom's own words, he's given more weight to those of police officers than from others and the conclusions of Sir Tom weren't a surprise to many."

Dame Cressida, the first woman to lead the UK's biggest police force, had faced criticism over the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer last year, and a series of other scandals.

Details of deeply offensive racist, misogynist and homophobic messages shared by officers based at Charing Cross, which were published by a watchdog in January after an investigation called Operation Hotton, were "the straw that broke the camel's back", Mr Khan said.

He told the committee that a plan put forward by the former commissioner to solve problems in the force on 4 February was "simply not good enough".

Hours before her resignation on 10 February, Dame Cressida had told the BBC she had no intention of quitting.

The circumstances of Dame Cressida's departure were similar to one of her predecessors, Sir Ian Blair, who resigned as Met commissioner in 2008 when the then-mayor, Boris Johnson, said he had lost confidence in his leadership.

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