Sadiq Khan said he is not going to “hide from the fact” that he had lost confidence in the outgoing police commissioner.
Speaking as Dame Cressida Dick prepares to stand down from her role, the mayor said trust in the force has dropped to “rock bottom” levels following a series of scandals.
Speaking at the launch of Labour’s local election campaign in Barnet, north London, Mr Khan said: "In the recent past, she’s worked with many others to help us reduce violent crime but I’m not going to hide from the fact that I lost confidence in her.
"I’m not going to hide from the fact that we’ve had in our city a series of devastating scandals, overt racism, sexism, discrimination, homophobia, we’ve had trust and confidence from Londoners in the police service at rock bottom.
"It’s one of the reasons why I lost confidence in her and it’s one of the things I’ll be looking for in a new commissioner, how they will address some of these serious issues that, frankly speaking, the current commissioner failed to address."
The Met has come under criticism following several scandals including a recent investigation into conduct at the Charing Cross police station where it was found some officers shared racist, misogynist and homophobic messages.
The force was also criticised over the death of Sarah Everard who was killed by a serving officer, Wayne Couzens and for how it handled the subsequent vigil held for the 33-year-old.
📸 | Officers and staff say goodbye to Commissioner Cressida Dick at New Scotland Yard.
— Metropolitan Police (@metpoliceuk) April 8, 2022
This afternoon the Commissioner will lead her final graduation parade marking record numbers of Met officers. pic.twitter.com/LOBfHI12jr
Dame Cressida’s last day in post will be on Sunday after which she will take unused annual leave, with her final day of employment being April 24.
Deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House will temporarily serve as acting commissioner while the recruitment process continues.
Asked on the appointment of the next commissioner, Mr Khan said: “I’ll be working closely with the Home Secretary to make sure we get the widest possible pool of candidates applying, we want the best possible candidate who is successful.
"Somebody who understands the challenges we face and also recognises the uniqueness of London, what a wonderful city we are, and how important it is to police by consent, to work with Londoners to restore confidence with women and girls in our city, but also minority communities, particularly black communities as well."
On Friday, Dame Cressida attended a parade for new recruits in one of her last ceremonies of her position.
The outgoing commissioner announced her resignation from the Met in February after she revealed Mr Khan had made it clear he had no confidence in her leadership.
Home Secretary Priti Patel previously confirmed the circumstances of Dame Cressida’s resignation will be reviewed by the outgoing chief inspector of constabulary Sir Tom Winsor.
