Boris Johnson to step down from policing role
MAYOR of London Boris Johnson said yesterday he would stand down as head of the capital’s police authority, reversing an election pledge that he would personally take charge of the fight against crime.
“I think it would be a good thing we changed the chair of the MPA (Metropolitan Police Authority) and I am proposing to stand down,” he told a questions session at the London Assembly.
Johnson’s dual role as mayor and chair of the MPA had been criticised for overly politicising the police authority, responsible for appointing the capital’s senior officers.
It led Johnson into controversy soon after his election in 2008, when he forced the resignation of the head of London’s police force, Ian Blair.
Blair’s departure came after months of negative headlines, particularly over the shooting dead by anti-terrorist police of Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, in July 2005.