The departure of Cressida Dick as Britain’s most senior police officer is the main story in most of the papers on Friday, although there is some difference in emphasis about whether she deserved her fate.
The Guardian led with the line that the Metropolitan police commissioner had to leave because London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, lost confidence in her ability to reform the scandal-hit force.
“Met police chief forced out over toxic culture failings”, its main headline reads, reporting that Dick quit when she realised that her plan to tackle a culture of misogyny and racism among the ranks did not pass muster at City Hall.
Guardian front page, Friday 11 February 2022: Met police chief forced out over toxic culture failings pic.twitter.com/nG1GzyuQ0a
— Guardian news (@guardiannews) February 10, 2022
The Times splash headline says “Scramble for new Met chief after Dick quits” and reports that her resignation had “blindsided” the home secretary, Priti Patel, who now has to find a new chief at a time when the force is investigating her boss, Boris Johnson, over the Downing Street parties scandal. An analysis says it was a “dramatic fall for a police officer once widely regarded as the best of her generation”, but who had become engulfed in scandal.
The Times: Scramble for new Met chief after Dick quits #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/Mqk40n5Kca
— Helena Wilkinson (@BBCHelena) February 10, 2022
The Telegraph’s main story says “Cressida Dick forced out as head of the Met” and chief reporter Robert Mendick also raises the nagging question about what Dick’s resignation might mean for the under-pressure prime minister.
“For Mr Johnson, it remains unclear whether the departure of a commissioner who had his full backing when her contract was up for renewal only last year will have devastating consequences for his career,” Mendick writes.
The front page of tomorrow's Daily Telegraph:
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) February 10, 2022
'Cressida Dick forced out as head of the Met'#TomorrowsPapersToday
Sign up for the Front Page newsletterhttps://t.co/x8AV4Oomry pic.twitter.com/cQRVuOSxvG
Other papers have a different take, typified by the Mail’s splash headline, which is: “Calamity Cressida fired – but what took so long?”. It says she was responsible for “catastrophic blunders” such as failing to root out Sarah Everard’s murderer Wayne Couzens from the ranks that have “wrecked public trust in police”.
Friday's @DailyMailUK #MailFrontPages pic.twitter.com/JK6dW2Ha8Z
— Daily Mail U.K. (@DailyMailUK) February 10, 2022
The Express leads with “Fears grow for Queen as Charles gets Covid”, but it has picture of Dick on its front page and the headline is along the same lines as the Mail’s: “Scandal hit Yard chief Cressida Dick FINALLY quits”.
Tomorrow's front page: Fears grow for Queen as Charles gets Covid#TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/4dK5kXmtsO pic.twitter.com/Zy0eE7onsd
— Daily Express (@Daily_Express) February 10, 2022
The i goes with the line that Dick had announced her intention to stay in the post earlier on Thursday, only to later realise that Khan was not going to back her. “Defiant Met chief forced out of Yard”.
Friday's front page: Defiant Met chief Cressida Dick forced out of Yardhttps://t.co/0R3p5zwc7m#TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/0eDGiHhfrr
— i newspaper (@theipaper) February 10, 2022
The Metro leads with “Cressida ditched” while the Yorkshire Post has the main headline “Dick quits as Metropolitan police chief”.
Tomorrow's Paper Today 📰
— Metro (@MetroUK) February 10, 2022
CRESSIDA DITCHED
🔴 Met's chief is forced out... after saying: 'I'm not going.'#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/qbCSw0TJcv
The Mirror leads on “Queen Covid scare” but has a small story on its front and the headline “Top cop Dick forced out”.
Tomorrow's front page: Queen Covid scare #TomorrowsPapersToday https://t.co/buN8GkeIIu pic.twitter.com/oqfaNWLk3s
— The Mirror (@DailyMirror) February 10, 2022
Ditto the Sun, which leads on a royal line but says in a secondary story that the Met chief has paid the price for a series of damaging stories. “Dick axed for scandal at Met”, it says.
The FT’s main front-page picture is of the outgoing police chief and the headline “Dick forced to quit after report into sexism and racism at Met”. But its main story is “Johnson looks for investment ‘big bang’ with regulatory deal”.
