The prospect of the former head of the National Crime Agency taking over as the Met Commissioner moved closer on Monday as it emerged that Sadiq Khan is ready to back the appointment.
Dame Lynne Owens has emerged as one of the front runners and the potential preferred choice of Home Secretary Priti Patel to take over from Dame Cressida Dick following her ousting last week. City Hall sources said today that the Mayor is also “open” to the idea in an indication that a second woman in succession could be appointed to lead Scotland Yard.
Dame Lynne stepped down as director general of the NCA last year to undergo treatment for breast cancer, but she has recovered well and is highly regarded in the Home Office because of her achievements in leading the fight against organised crime and people trafficking.
She is understood still to be undecided about whether to seek the Scotland Yard job, partly because of the unexpected speed of Dame Cressida’s departure.
Other contenders to replace Dame Cressida — who announced she was quitting last week after Mr Khan told her she had lost his confidence — include the former head of national counter-terrorism Sir Mark Rowley, the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Shaun Sawyer, and the former Merseyside police chief Andy Cooke.
Met Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, another former head of national counter-terrorism, was once considered a potential front runner to replace Dame Cressida but is understood to have fallen out of favour with the Home Secretary.
The developments came as negotiations over Dame Cressida’s exit payment continued. The abrupt nature of her ousting means she is thought to be entitled to most if not all of the salary she would have earned for the two-year extension to her term of office, due to start in April. That would bring her around half a million pounds, given she had an annual salary of around £230,000.
Mr Khan, who dismissed her blueprint for reforming the Met as insufficient, is hoping to avoid paying such a large sum, but could be forced to unless he can persuade her to take less or show he acted in accordance with employment law. Dame Cressida’s resignation followed a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by police officer Wayne Couzens and the exposure of racist, misogynistic and other abusive WhatsApp exchanges between officers at Charing Cross police station.
