Mayor of London statement following Sir Mark Rowley's update on improving standards in Met

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I welcome this update from Sir Mark and the action and change now taking place to significantly raise standards in the Met police, change the culture and root out those officers who are unfit to serve and support the brave individuals who speak up about unacceptable behaviour.

“The Commissioner’s letter sets out some disturbing findings. Londoners, like me, will be appalled to hear that 161 serving police officers in the Met have a criminal conviction and it is right that every single one of those cases will be reviewed by the Met’s Professional Standards team. 

“It is right that action is now being taken to review and remove vetting from officers who cannot be trusted to police London – the first step to removing them from the Met altogether. This work is particularly urgent for the hundreds of officers against whom allegations of sexual offending or domestic abuse have been made. These investigations must be concluded without delay.

“As I have been saying for some time, Londoners deserve better from the Met and it is right that the bar is high for the conduct of those entrusted with keeping us safe. This is an important first step towards rebuilding public trust and confidence, which is so vital to policing by consent, but there is still a lot more to do.

“We must fix the integrity of the police and equip Sir Mark and the Met’s leadership with the practical powers they desperately need to clean up the force robustly and at pace. As I’ve repeatedly set out to the Government, legislative reform to remove anyone falling short of the high standards expected is long overdue.  

“I am encouraged by the significant increase in the number of officers and staff within the Met who are bravely coming forward and calling out unacceptable behaviour. We will only succeed in creating a new Met with their help and I encourage more of the many thousands of hardworking officers – who are being let down by the culture within the Met and those committing wrongdoing - to be part of the change they want to see and Londoners deserve.

“I will continue to do everything I can to empower Sir Mark and hold him to account in fixing the systematic failings identified in Baroness Casey’s review. I agree with her conclusions that the Police are institutionally racist, institutionally homophobic and institutionally misogynistic. We must change the culture, root out officers who are unfit to serve and create the right environment for officers and staff of all backgrounds to thrive, so we can build a safer, more equal London for everyone.”