Former Head of Counter-terrorism, Sir Mark Rowley is set to be announced as the next Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, replacing his predecessor Cressida Dick.
The search for the new Met Police commissioner was whittled down to Sir Mark and former Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Sir Mark Rowley is a distinguished and exceptionally experienced police officer, having served the people of the West Midlands and Surrey before guiding the capital through some of its most challenging moments in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks, as the Met’s then head of counter-terrorism.
“He now takes on one of the most important and demanding jobs in policing, leading the country’s largest force at a time when public trust in the Metropolitan Police has been severely undermined by a number of significant failings. Rebuilding public trust and delivering on crime reduction must be his priority.
“This will be a challenging period, but with a focus on tackling neighbourhood crime and delivering the basics of policing, Sir Mark is committed to tackling the significant challenges confronting the force and to making London’s streets safer by driving down crime and bringing more criminals to justice.
Sir Mark Rowley
Victoria Jones
“As the largest police force in the country, we have supported the Met to recruit 2,599 extra police officers and increased their annual policing budget to £3.24 billion in 2022-23. I look forward to working closely with Sir Mark to ensure this investment drives essential change to ensure the force delivers for the people of London.”
The decision comes just 10 days after the force was placed in special measures because of "substantial and persistent" failings including sexism scandals and failures to thoroughly investigate crime.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan commented on the appointment, saying: “The Home Secretary and I have agreed that Sir Mark Rowley is the best person to lead the Metropolitan Police as the new commissioner at this extremely challenging time.
“A series of appalling scandals have not only exposed deep cultural problems within the Met, but have contributed to a crisis of confidence in London’s police service.
“Sir Mark has made clear to me that he is determined to be a reforming commissioner, committed to implementing a robust plan to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and to drive through the urgent reforms and step change in culture and performance Londoners deserve. As mayor, I will support and hold him to these promises as I continue to hold the Met to account.
“Sir Mark has demonstrated to me that he is the outstanding candidate for this role. He brings a wealth of great experience to the position, including exceptional leadership during the 2017 terror attacks and a genuine commitment to increasing engagement with diverse communities across our city.
“The experience he has gained outside policing over the last four years will also bring a valuable new perspective to the Met. Above all, he is committed to policing by consent and shares my ambition to get to a place where all Londoners feel protected and served, and where we have a police force that everyone – including the many brave and dedicated officers in our city – can be proud of.”
Sir Mark initially applied for the role in 2017, but lost to Cressida Dick, and hasbeen working in the private sector since departing policing four years ago.
Since the former Commissioner's departure, Sir Stephen House has been acting Commissioner.