PSNI CHIEF Constable Sir Hugh Orde has confirmed that he has applied to be next head of the Metropolitan Police in London.
Sir Hugh officially applied yesterday, the closing day of applications for what is the most senior police posting in the UK. If successful, he will take on a difficult job in succession to Sir Ian Blair, who was forced to resign after he lost the confidence of the London mayor Boris Johnston in the wake of a series of controversies.
Sir Hugh already has experience of the Metropolitan Police, having begun his police career there in 1977, rising to the rank of deputy assistant commissioner. He was also a senior member of the Stevens Inquiry, investigating allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and elements of the RUC.
He took over as head of the PSNI in 2002 and is generally seen as having steered it through the radical reforms of the Patten era that were begun under his predecessor Sir Ronnie Flanagan.
Under his watch, Sinn Féin endorsed policing and joined the policing board, while the PSNI now has 25 per cent Catholic membership - up from single figures when he took over - just 5 per cent short of the 30 per cent target figure to be achieved by 2011.
Sir Hugh has over two years of his PSNI contract to run.