Metropolitan Police operation to root out unfit officers could see nearly 200 face dismissal
Nearly 200 Metropolitan Police officers and staff members who have been accused of domestic violence or sexual offences within the past 10 years may face dismissal.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley, who began the job in September, believes there are hundreds of corrupt officers serving in the force who should not be there.
Updating Home Secretary Suella Braverman and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan in a letter on reviews in the force, he said more than 1,000 records where officers and staff were accused of domestic violence or sexual offences in the past 10 years to April 2022 have already been rechecked, to make sure the correct decision was taken.
Of those, 246 will see no further action and 689 will have their case reassessed.
Meanwhile, 196 will be referred to formal risk management measures and may have their vetting status reviewed to determine if they should remain in the Met, the letter said.
Each of the cases will also be reviewed by an external panel.
The Met – branded institutionally racist, homophobic and misogynist in a major review – has lurched between a series of scandals in recent years, including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and ex-PC David Carrick being unmasked as a serial abuser and rapist.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Baroness Casey: ‘Systemic’ discrimination in Met Police
The letter also revealed that almost 100 Metropolitan Police officers have been diverted from crime squads to internal standards in a bid to root out colleagues deemed unfit for the job.
“Not only have we increased our DPS by 150 people, but the scale and urgency of this work has meant diverting officers from other missions such as serious and organised crime and counter-terrorism,” the commissioner said.
“Over the last three months we have had, on average, 90 additional officers and staff from these areas supporting DPS.
“The shared determination has been seen through the excess of volunteers.
“We have taken this decision because we cannot succeed in any policing mission unless we resolve these issues as urgently as possible.”
Sir Mark said this will go alongside longer-term plans including leadership training to address wider cultural problems.
“The most urgent thing is to, if you like, remove the cancer from the body and that’s what this is about, that first step,” he said.
Tightening the rules
Sir Mark is also considering tightening the rules around officers and staff with criminal convictions, to ban anyone prosecuted for anything other than “the most trivial matters” or offences committed under the age of 18.
The letter revealed 161 Met officers have criminal convictions – 76 for serious traffic offences and 49 for crimes of dishonesty or violence.
Other crimes include drug possession, criminal damage and public order offences, and three serving officers have convictions for sexual offences.
Sir Mark said this made for “uncomfortable reading” and his standards unit will examine each case to assess whether restrictions need to be placed on these officers or if they should be re-vetted.
Other measures include checking all 50,000 employees of the Met against the police national database – a process which has so far identified 38 cases of potential misconduct and 55 cases of an off-duty association with a criminal.
Sir Mark Rowley
Vetting rules have already been toughened up with officers and staff being re-vetted if their behaviour is of concern.
The letter also revealed that a public hotline allowing members to report Met Police officers who abuse their trust has resulted in 350 reports that are being responded to, as well as some officers being arrested and suspended.
Ms Braverman said: “The Met plays a unique role in keeping millions of Londoners safe and protecting the country from terrorism, so it is crucial the public has confidence in the force to carry out these duties with the utmost professionalism.
“I have been clear that a relentless focus on improving standards and common sense policing is required.
“Sir Mark’s update on the work to root out unfit officers demonstrates the scale of this challenge but I have confidence in his plan to turn around the Met and ensure the force is delivering for the public.
“I am also driving forward work to review the police dismissals process to ensure the system is effective at removing officers who fall below the standards we expect.”
NHS league tables revealing failing NHS trusts and cancelled pay rises or dismissal for managers who don’t turn things around are to form part of the government’s plans to improve the health service.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting is confirming new measures he hopes will boost failing hospital trusts and encourage successful ones.
The changes form part of the Labour government’s strategy to reduce waiting lists “from 18 months to 18 weeks”.
Politics latest: ‘Eye-watering’ climate target announced by PM
Health and the state of the NHS were consistently among the most important issues for voters at this year’s general election – with Labour blaming the Conservatives for “breaking” it.
As health is a devolved area, any reforms proposed in Westminster would only apply to England.
Chief among Mr Streeting’s proposals is a “league table” for NHS trusts.
An announcement from the Department for Health and Social Care said: “NHS England will carry out a no-holds-barred sweeping review of NHS performance across the entire country, with providers to be placed into a league table.
“This will be made public and regularly updated to ensure leaders, policy-makers and patients know which improvements need to be prioritised.”
It also promises to replace “persistently failing managers” – with “turn around teams” being sent in to improve trusts running sizeable deficits or offering poor service to patients.
The government says “senior managers” who fail to make progress will not be eligible for pay rises.
There will be “financial implications” for more senior figures such as chief executives if their trust does not improve.
On the flip-side, those trusts that are deemed to be “high-performing” will get “greater freedom over funding and flexibility”.
Senior leaders at these trusts will also be “rewarded”.
The government says the current system is not incentivising trusts to run a budget surplus, as they cannot benefit from it.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
NHS reform: ‘Be careful what you wish for’
Read more on the NHS:
Reform will not begin right away – Streeting
Govt ask for ideas to ‘help fix our NHS’
NHS must ‘reform or die’, warns PM
Mr Streeting said: “The budget showed this government prioritises the NHS, providing the investment needed to rebuild the health service.
“Today we are announcing the reforms to make sure every penny of extra investment is well spent and cuts waiting times for patients.
“There’ll be no more turning a blind eye to failure. We will drive the health service to improve, so patients get more out of it for what taxpayers put in.
“Our health service must attract top talent, be far more transparent to the public who pay for it, and run as efficiently as global businesses.
“With the combination of investment and reform, we will turn the NHS around and cut waiting times from 18 months to 18 weeks.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Concerns from health representatives
Amanda Pritchard, the chief executive of NHS England, said: “While NHS leaders welcome accountability, it is critical that responsibility comes with the necessary support and development.
“The extensive package of reforms, developed together with government, will empower all leaders working in the NHS and it will give them the tools they need to provide the best possible services for our patients.”
Further plans on how monitoring will be published by the start of the next financial year in April 2025, the government said.
Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the NHS Confederation – a body that represents all NHS trusts – said healthcare leaders welcome the “government’s ambition”.
However, he said he was concerned league tables and reducing pay may “strip out” the nuance of what’s going on.
👉 Listen to Politics At Jack And Sam’s on your podcast app👈
Mr Taylor said: “NHS staff are doing their very best for patients under very challenging circumstances and we do not want them feeling like they are being named and shamed.
“League tables in themselves do not lead to improvement, trusts struggling with consistent performance issues – some of which reflect contextual issues such as underlying population heath and staff shortages – need to be identified and supported in order to recover.”
UK
Princess of Wales’s annual carol concert to focus on ‘how much we need others in difficult times’
The Princess of Wales will host her Christmas carol concert this year, reflecting on “how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives”.
The service, which has become an annual festive event for Kate, will take place on the 6 December at Westminster Abbey, as part of her return to public duties after finishing her chemotherapy treatment earlier this year.
In September, the princess said her focus is “doing what I can to stay cancer-free”.
Last week, Prince William described how the past year had been “brutal” and probably “the hardest year in my life”, with his father, the King, also receiving cancer treatment.
Both the King and Kate joined other members of the Royal Family for the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London on Sunday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Princess of Wales at Remembrance Sunday
Announcing the date of the Together At Christmas carol service, Kensington Palace said: “This year’s service provides a moment to reflect upon the importance of love and empathy, and how much we need each other, especially in the most difficult times of our lives.
“The service will shine a light on individuals from all over the UK who have shown love, kindness and empathy towards others in their communities.”
The Princess of Wales’s family at the service in 2021. Pic: PA
It will be the fourth time Kate has staged the carol service, which is supported by her and her husband’s Royal Foundation.
Around 1,600 people will be invited to sing carols and see musical performances by stars including Paloma Faith, Olivia Dean and Gregory Porter.
Those who have supported others, either on a personal level with friends and family or through their work or volunteering, have been nominated to attend.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Kate ‘doing really well’
The palace added that this year Kate “wanted to celebrate the many people supporting those in need – individuals who have inspired, counselled, comforted, and above all else shown that love is the greatest gift we can receive”.
The theme takes inspiration from the Christmas story, “which encourages us to consider the experiences of others and the important human need of giving and receiving empathy”.
Read more from Sky News:
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby resigns
Magic Circle on the hunt for first female member
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Across the UK, 15 Together At Christmas community carol services will also be held, including at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro and Blackpool Tower Circus.
The event will be filmed as part of a special programme which will air on ITV and ITVX on Christmas Eve.
Fines of £10,000 for social media bosses who don’t remove illegal knife adverts are being considered by the government.
The proposals are part of attempts by Labour to fulfil their promise to halve knife crime levels in the next decade.
The Home Office wants to introduce the measures to stop the “unacceptable use of social media and online marketplaces to market illegal weapons and glorify violence” and ensure content is quickly removed.
Under the plans, police would be empowered to issue warnings to senior officials at online companies and demand specific adverts and content be removed – potentially within two days.
A second notice could then be given if action is not taken – with senior executives “personally liable” for a “significant fine” if nothing is done.
While the exact scale of the financial penalty has not been confirmed, a consultation suggested £10,000 for the worst offenders, according to the PA news agency.
Sir Keir Starmer previously spoke of his desire to make buying knives online harder.
In September, he hosted a meeting of a new anti-knife crime coalition including actor Idris Elba and bereaved families, among others.
Elba told the meeting: “Talk is good, but action is important.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Idris Elba: ‘Talk is good, action is more important’
As well as reducing the sale of knives online, the government also wants to change the law around ninja swords.
Work is currently ongoing to decide a definition of the weapons.
It comes on the back of campaigning by Pooja Kanda, the mother of 16-year-old Ronan Kanda.
Ronan was killed in Wolverhampton by two 17-year-olds in 2022, who used a weapon purchased online under an alias and collected from a Post Office.
Read more:
Cutting knife crime ‘moral mission’ for Labour
Elba joins Starmer for anti-knife coalition meeting
Mum of murdered boy ‘feels heard’ with new laws
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said perpetrators “must face the full force of the law” as she announced the “tough new sanctions”, adding: “The epidemic of knife crime that has grown over the last decade is devastating families and communities right across the country.
“That’s why this government has set out an unprecedented mission to halve knife crime over the next decade and today we’re taking determined action to get lethal blades off Britain’s streets.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Home Sec vows to halve knife crime
Commander Stephen Clayman, who leads the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s work on knife crime and is also heading a review of online sales of the weapons for the Home Office, said: “For far too long, deadly weapons have been far too easily accessible online, with content promoting their use for protection and combat rife on many platforms and seemingly little being done to remove it.
“We welcome the chance to take part in the consultation and explore the most effective means of achieving this, including using the findings of the ongoing online sales review.”
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports7 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway