Labour takes major hit as mayor sees off police chief Blair

UK: LONDON MAYOR Boris Johnson and the Conservatives claimed a significant hit on British prime minister Gordon Brown's Labour…

UK:LONDON MAYOR Boris Johnson and the Conservatives claimed a significant hit on British prime minister Gordon Brown's Labour administration last night following the resignation of Metropolitan Police commissioner Ian Blair, writes Frank Millar, London Editor

Home secretary Jacqui Smith "reluctantly" accepted Sir Ian's resignation - the first by a serving commissioner in 90 years. However, in a brief statement, the departing police chief confirmed that Mr Johnson had told him on Wednesday he wanted "a change of leadership" at Scotland Yard.

"Without the mayor's backing I do not think I can continue in the job," said Sir Ian, who will stay in his post until the beginning of December to facilitate the search for his successor.

Hugh Orde, Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland, was among those immediately tipped for the post. However, the circumstances of Sir Ian's departure - dramatically underlining the changed political landscape resulting from Labour's devolution programme - may also have given potential successors pause for thought about a job that requires a successful working relationship with a Labour home secretary and a Conservative mayor. Pressed to clarify his intentions Sir Hugh refused to rule himself out.

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"My concern currently is to protect the communities of Northern Ireland and to deal with the dissident republican threat. That is where 100 per cent of my energy currently is." He said he still had two years to run on his contract with the PSNI and he had "no plans to move at the moment".

Former mayor Ken Livingstone described Sir Ian's resignation as a mistake and said it would be regarded as the day when the position of the commissioner "became party political".

However, shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve said this was "the right decision" for the Oxford-educated police chief once hailed for his "modernising" and "inclusive" approach but whose reputation never recovered from the controversies surrounding the death of Jean Charles de Menezes, the innocent Brazilian man shot dead by police after failed London bombing attempts in July 2005.

"We have been calling for Sir Ian to step down for almost a year, since the systematic failings at the Metropolitan Police disclosed during the De Menezes trial whilst cabinet ministers onwards continued to express total confidence in him," said Mr Grieve.

He continued: "It is now clear that they have shown a serious lack of judgment about the leadership of the most important police force in Britain. It is vital that a successor is appointed who can restore public confidence."

Confidence in Sir Ian had been further undermined by a series of controversies and rows that have seen two senior ethnic minority officers suspended, and the commissioner and his force in turn accused of racism. There is also an investigation into allegations about payments made by the Metropolitan Police to a business run by a friend of Sir Ian's.

Moreover, Mr Johnson was also elected mayor last May on a strong promise to tackle the growing wave of knife killings in the capital. The mayor said Sir Ian could be very proud of his record in keeping Londoners safe from harm. But he added: "There comes a time in any organisation when it becomes clear it would benefit from new leadership."