Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick has stepped down from her role following a series of scandals which have rocked the force.
The Met has been dogged by reports of institutional misogyny, racism and homophobia in recent months - with growing calls for Ms Dick to resign to restore confidence in London’s police force.
As the force looks for a new leader, the Standard looks back at the scandals that brought down Cressida Dick.
The murder of Sarah Everard and vigil
The murder of Sarah Everard by former Met police officer Wayne Couzens in March 2021 shocked the nation and sparked a debate over a culture of misogyny in Britain’s biggest police force.
Ex-Pc Wayne Couzens was handed a whole-life term in September last year after kidnapping, raping and murdering the 33-year-old.
Couzens abducted Ms Everard as she walked home from a friend’s house in Clapham, south London, on the evening of March 3.
The Metropolitan Police firearms officer, who had been “hunting” for a victim, used his warrant card and handcuffs to snatch the marketing executive off the street using Covid lockdown rules to make a false arrest.
It also emerged that Couzens was known as “the rapist” in his previous job at the Civil Nuclear Constabulary because he made female colleagues feel so uncomfortable. He had also previously been accused of indecent exposure, including just days before Ms Everard’s murder.
Elsewhere, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said last October that two officers from the Met would face misconduct proceedings after offensive messages were shared about Ms Everard in the aftermath of her death.
A Met Police constable, who went on to staff a cordon as part of the search for Ms Everard, was investigated over allegations they used WhatsApp “to share with colleagues an inappropriate graphic, depicting violence against women” while off-duty. The message was described as “highly offensive”.
The policing of a spontaneous vigil that took place after Ms Everard’s death drew criticism from across the political spectrum after women were handcuffed on the ground and led away by officers.
The Met also faced criticism for telling women to flag down a bus or shout at passersby if they are stopped by a police officer they do not trust, drawing condemnation from human rights groups. Liberty said that “advising people to run away from police if they are uncomfortable or to wave down a bus is not the answer”.
Vile messages at Charing Cross
The Met faced fury after a series of “shocking” racist, sexist and homophobic messages exchanged by police officers at Charing Cross station were published by the watchdog last month.
Details of messages from WhatsApp groups and a Facebook chat group including multiple references to rape, violence against women, racist and homophobic abuse were unveiled by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) on Tuesday.
Messages exchanged in two WhatsApp groups and one Facebook group included multiple references to sexual violence including: “If I was single I would happily chloroform you”.
In other discussions one officer bragged that he had hit his girlfriend, and told a colleague: “It makes them love you more”.
Homophobic language was also used including one entry that said “f*** you bender”, and a number of racist messages including references to African children, Somali people and Auschwitz that are too offensive to print.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said he was “disgusted” by the behaviour in the report.
Delay investigating partygate
The Met Police did not announce a formal investigation into alleged parties held in Downing Street until late last month – many weeks after initial reports had surfaced in the press.
Initially, Ms Dick had stressed the force would not probe “historic” breaches of lockdown rules.
Following the announcement of its investigation, senior civil servant Sue Gray was unable to publish her full report into alleged lawbreaking in Downing Street after the Met asked for “minimal reference” to the events it was investigating.
This was criticised by former attorney general Lord Morris of Aberavon, who accused the force of “vacillating” over partygate.
He said: “I t is in the public interest that major concerns over events in Downing Street be investigated and reported on.
“Any prejudice that might result in fines would be a disproportionate concern.”
Ken Macdonald, a former director of public prosecutions (DPP), said earlier that the move seemed “disproportionate” in the face of “very powerful” public interest in the report’s swift publication.
Security failures at the Euro 2020 final
England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy at Wembley last July was marred by shocking scenes of disorder outside the stadium as ticketless fans attempted to storm through the gates.
In what Baroness Casey described as “a source of national shame”, around 2,000 people without tickets managed to get into the London stadium as England took on Italy.
She said policing at the game “did not sufficiently mitigate the risk of ticketless fans, with officers deployed too late in the day”.
Met Police commander Rachel Williams said she was “deeply sorry” for the “unacceptable scenes of disorder”.
Daniel Morgan inquiry
An independent report accused the Met of institutional corruption over its handling of the death of Daniel Morgan, a private investigator who was killed with an axe 34 years ago.
Mr Morgan died in the car park of the Golden Lion pub in Sydenham on March 10 1987, and a string of unsuccessful investigations into his death have been mired with claims of corruption.
A major report on the unsolved murder of private investigator Daniel Morgan found that the force had concealed or denied failings in the case to protect its reputation.
In the wake of the report both Ms Dick and Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave rejected the accusation, saying the Met “does not accept” that it is institutionally corrupt.
But Ms Dick apologised to Mr Morgan’s family, saying it was a “matter of great regret that no-one has been brought to justice and that our mistakes have compounded the pain suffered by Daniel’s family”.
Officers jailed over photos of murdered sisters
Former Met Pcs Deniz Jaffer and Jamie Lewis were jailed for two years and nine months each in December for taking photographs of two dead womens’ bodies and sharing them with friends and colleagues on WhatsApp.
One was a “selfie-style” image on which Lewis had superimposed his face.
The officers’ “shameful” behaviour also included describing the victims as “dead birds” on WhatsApp groups.
Sentencing, Judge Mark Lucraft QC said: “The public expects, and rightly so, the highest of standards from police officers.
“I am sure there will be many thousands of officers in police forces in this country and abroad utterly horrified by your actions.
“It is appalling and inexplicable conduct.”
