Mayor Khan: My credentials for Sir Bernard’s successor

The sudden departure plans of Britain`s highest-ranking police officer has set the wheels in motion for a potential global search for his successor.

But one half of the team charged with finding the “best possible” replacement for retiring Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Commissioner Sir Bernard Hogan-Howe sees “major challenges” ahead for the successful applicant.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who along with Home Secretary Amber Rudd will choose the next Commissioner, says juggling protection of the public with keeping police numbers on the streets against a backdrop of £400 million in cuts over the next four years will be a tough ask.

The officer who takes over next February from Sir Bernard will be “keeping Londoners safe” in the wake of Lord Toby Harris’ terror-preparedness review, the findings of which are published this month.

They will also be building on the capital’s zero-tolerance approach to weapons and implementing the findings of an upcoming major knife crime summit.

Mr Khan said the next Commissioner will have to build on positive first steps to improve its relationship with London’s communities, recruiting more actual Londoners to work for the capital’s police force, and in particular more women and ethnic minority officers.

He added that he had been “hugely impressed” by the devotion and commitment of officers in London, particularly the rank and file.

And he promised: “I am committed to finding a new commissioner who will be both a credit and an asset to our police force — someone who has the trust and respect of both police officers and our communities.”

Sir Bernard, who last week announced he was bringing the curtain down on a five-year tenure, flatly denied he was being “pushed out” by “PR-focused” new London Mayor Mr Khan – rejecting a theory he was leaving early rather than face not being reappointed at the end of his contract.

He also insisted it was not a result of concerns about a report into the MPS` handling of Operation Midland`s investigations into historical sexual abuse claims, with a report by Sir Richard Henriques expected out on Thursday (October 6).

Speaking at the Lambeth special operations room in the MPS` communications command, Sir Bernard said he had an “excellent” relationship with both the new Labour mayor and his Tory predecessor Boris Johnson.

But he stressed it was an opportune moment as both the Home Secretary and new mayor “will want to make their plans over the next four years”, adding that he would not have been in office for that length of time anyway.

“It just seemed to be a good chance to make this change now and then make sure that we allowed a decent time to select my successor for what is a vital role, an important one,” Sir Bernard added.

“That new person will need to be selected and then they may have to be released from another role, and of course all that takes time.”

Sir Bernard said the MPS was the only police force in the country to keep its officer numbers high – against a backdrop of swingeing cuts to numbers across the UK¬ and that they had managed to increase confidence and reduce crime by nearly 20 per cent.

He said: “That`s what I`m proudest of – the people I lead, the achievements we`ve made, from what was a pretty inauspicious start.”

Talking on the future of the force, Sir Bernard said his “greatest gift” to the next commissioner would be the almost 50,000 police staff at the MPS, whom he described as “very brave, very committed”.

He said: “I`m very proud of all they`ve achieved over the last five years. I think I`m particularly proud of the fact that, as I arrived in 2011, both the city and the Met was in crisis.”

While the Mayor`s Office for Policing And Crime did not rule out looking abroad for the next Commissioner, Mr Khan said he would be “very surprised” if that was necessary – given the high calibre of candidate available among the ranks of senior officers in the UK.

Speculation as to who will fill the position began with a report suggesting Sir Charles Montgomery – the head of the