CRESSIDA DICK announced her resignation last night (10) after a string of scandals rocked London's Metropolitan Police, including racism, sexism and a serving officer murdering a young woman.
Dame Cressida, who became the first woman to head the force in 2017, said she had "no choice but to step aside" after London mayor Sadiq Khan said he no longer had confidence in her leadership.
"I say this with deep sadness and regret," the UK's most senior police officer said in a televised statement, wearing her uniform.
The Scotland Yard chief defended her role and the work of her service and thanked her fellow officers for the "extraordinary efforts you make each and every day."
Khan said on Thursday (10) he was "not satisfied with the commissioner's response", after a meeting last week where he insisted broad changes were needed to "root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny" in the force.
Dame Cressida said she felt "huge sadness", but it was "clear that the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue". She had been set to stay as head of the service until 2024.
Her sudden announcement comes as her police force investigates the "partygate" scandal swirling around prime minister Boris Johnson over alleged parties held in breach of coronavirus restrictions.
Dame Cressida said she would stay on for a short while to "ensure the stability of the Met".
“Damaged confidence”
Johnson and the home secretary Priti Patel praised her achievements in tweets.
"I thank her for her role protecting the public and making our streets safer," Johnson said, while Patel said Dick served in "challenging times" and had shown "steadfast dedication to protecting our capital city and its people".
The 61-year-old had long faced calls for her resignation after high-profile scandals including the rape and murder of Sarah Everard, who was kidnapped by then-police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021.
Dame Cressida has acknowledged that the case "brought shame" on the force.
Couzens snatched the 33-year-old marketing executive after falsely arresting her for breach of coronavirus restrictions. He has been sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail.
The police chief also faced criticism over the response during a vigil for Everard in a London park, when police scuffled with the predominantly female crowd and physically restrained demonstrators, arresting four people.
Dame Cressida referred to "the murder of Sarah Everard" in her resignation statement, saying this and "many other awful cases recently have, I know, damaged confidence in this fantastic police service".
But the force "has turned its full attention to rebuilding public trust and confidence", she said, adding she was "very optimistic about the future for the Met and for London".
Khan said earlier this month he was "utterly disgusted" after an independent watchdog said London police had sent each other "shocking" racist, sexist and homophobic messages.
(AFP)
English questioning rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent, and racist jokes from 36 per cent to 41 per cent
Workplace violence against Black and ethnic minority employees rises to 26 per cent
Highlights
The Trades Union Congress surveyed 1,044 Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees. The results show clear increases in racist behaviour between 2020 and 2026.
Workers having their English questioned rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent. Those hearing racist jokes went up from 36 per cent to 41 per cent.
Racist comments made to workers or around them increased from 31 per cent to 36 per cent.
Violence and threats
The most worrying finding involves physical threats and violence, which jumped from 19 per cent to 26 per cent.
Racist posts shared on workplace social media grew from 22 per cent to 28 per cent. Racist materials being passed around increased from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.
Beyond direct racism, many workers face unfair treatment. Nearly half (45 per cent) said they get harder or less popular jobs.
Over two in five (43 per cent) receive unfair criticism. The same number (41 per cent) stay stuck on temporary contracts.
Work conditions got worse too. Those not getting enough hours rose from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Workers denied overtime went from 30 per cent to 37 per cent. Being kept on short-term contracts increased from 33 per cent to 41 per cent.
Direct managers cause most unfair treatment (35 per cent), followed by other managers (19 per cent).
Bullying mainly comes from direct managers (30 per cent) and colleagues (28 per cent). Racist behaviour mostly comes from colleagues (33 per cent) and customers or clients (22 per cent).
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: "Black and ethnic minority workers are facing appalling and growing levels of racism and unfair treatment in Britain. This racism is plaguing the labour market – and it's getting worse."
The TUC is calling for urgent government action to tackle the problem. The union wants ring-fenced funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce workplace protections.
It is pushing for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for companies with over 50 employees.
The TUC says the Employment Rights Act, which makes employers responsible for protecting workers from harassment by customers and clients, will be an important step forward.
The union also wants employers to treat racial harassment as a health and safety issue and monitor ethnicity data across recruitment, pay and promotions.