Met Police chief Cressida Dick has Resigned (videos)

The surprise announcement comes after Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, had put the police chief “on notice” following a recent series of serious misconduct scandals with the exposure of racist and sexist messages sent by officers in the force at Charing Cross police station.

Dame Cressida has announced her resignation, just hours after she insisted she had “absolutely no intention” of leaving.

“At his request, I have agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new commissioner.”

The series of scandals at the force also include the murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens.

In Khan’s statement on Thursday, the mayor London said he was “not satisfied with the commissioner’s response” to “root out the racism, sexism, homophobia, bullying, discrimination and misogyny that still exists”.

He also thanked Dame Cressida Dick for her 40 years of dedicated public service.

She was the first woman to become commissioner.

The home Secretary, Priti Patel, thanked Dame Cressida “for the nearly four decades of her life that she has devoted to serving the public”.

Dame Cressida added “Throughout my career I have sought to protect the people of this wonderful thriving and diverse city.

There have been many tough calls. And many challenges. The 2017 terrorist attacks, the Grenfell fire, difficult protests, the pandemic, the murder of serving officers.

I’m incredibly proud of my team and all they have achieved.

Since day one tackling violence in all its forms has been my number one priority. We continue to see teenagers murdered on our streets and every attack is a tragedy.

But we are delivering and overall violence is down. The Met is bucking the national trend. We are achieving remarkable results in key areas of violence, with thousands of fewer victims of knife crime, robbery and other attacks.

I leave a Met that is growing and will soon record the largest ever number of officers. London is becoming safer. These great people include more women than ever in every rank and role and an increasing number from a broad range of ethnic backgrounds that truly reflect the diversity of London.”