Information about Ian Blair

Sir Ian Warwick Blair, QPM (born 19 March 1953) is Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (head of the Metropolitan Police Service). He is not related to Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister, despite sharing a surname. His position is considered to be the most senior position in the police forces of the UK, and as such he is referred to frequently in the press as Britain's Top Police Officer. However, he only has authority over the Metropolitan Police, as a Chief Constable would in other forces.

Education and early career

After attending Wrekin College, Shropshire and Harvard High School, Los Angeles Ian Blair read English Language and English Literature at Christ Church, Oxford. He was awarded a second-class degree.

He commenced his police career in 1974 as a constable in the Soho area of London. He served in both uniform and CID in central London before leaving the Met in 1991 to be staff officer in HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

In 1994, he moved to Thames Valley Police as Assistant Chief Constable, becoming Deputy Chief Constable there in 1997. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 1999 and received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2003 for services to the Police.

Formerly Deputy Commissioner, and before that Chief Constable of Surrey Police, he took up his current post on 1 February 2005, taking over from Sir John Stevens (now Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington).

Jean Charles de Menezes

Main article: Jean Charles de Menezes

Blair's public profile rose considerably when he issued statements during the London bombings on July 7 and 21, 2005.

Sir Ian was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner at the time of the death of the Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes. After the shooting, he telephoned the Chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and wrote a letter to the Home Office stating that "the shooting that has just occurred at Stockwell is not to be referred to the IPCC and that they will be given no access to the scene at the present time".^[1] In the UK police shootings are routinely investigated by the IPCC. He also made a false statement claiming that a warning had been issued prior to the shooting. Demands have been made for his resignation especially by Alessandro Pereira, a cousin of Menezes. The IPCC held an investigation into the false statements, and allegations of attempts to delay an inquiry. On 2nd August 2007 the IPCC announced its findings that the allegations against Blair couldn't be substantiated, instead placing the blame for misleading the public on Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, who had failed to report his suspicions that an innocent man had been killed, and had released contradictory statements to the press.^[2]

Following the discovery that de Menezes was not in fact a suspected suicide bomber, Blair apparently considered resigning but quickly came to the decision to remain in office, "because the big job is to defend this country against terrorism and that's what I'm here to do". He may however come under further pressure when the IPPC report is published, and he has admitted that his decision would depend "on the level of condemnation".^[3]

Blair, or the Metropolitan Police, may face action for libel from one of his Deputy Assistant Commissioners, Brian Paddick. Paddick told the IPCC that a member of Sir Ian's private office team believed the wrong man had been targeted just six hours after the shooting. When this allegation became public following an unauthorised disclosure, Scotland Yard issued a statement claiming that the officer alleged to have believed this (Paddick) "has categorically denied this in his interview with, and statement to, the IPCC investigators". The statement continued that they "were satisfied that whatever the reasons for this suggestion being made, it is simply not true". Paddick's interpretation of this statement was that it accused him of lying.^[4]

On 28 March 2006, Paddick accepted a statement from the Metropolitan Police that it "did not intend to imply" a senior officer had misled the probe into the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes. In a statement the Metropolitan Police said "any misunderstanding is regretted" and that Paddick had accepted its "clarification" and considered the matter closed.^[5]

In June 2006, a leaked copy of the Independent Police Complaints Commission report sparked further criticism and calls to quit.^[6]

Further controversies

November 2005, detention without charge

Blair became involved in allegations of the police being "politicised" when he and other senior police officers were known to have lobbied MPs to support Government proposals to hold terrorist suspects for 90 days.^[7]

January 2006, racism in the media

Blair is keen to be politically correct and supports community outreach initiatives and campaigns for gay and ethnic minority officers. In January 2006 he attracted considerable controversy when he described the media as institutionally racist^[8] (a charge that has also been levelled at the police) for its allegedly unbalanced coverage of crimes against white people, such as in the Murder of Tom ap Rhys Pryce as compared to that given to crimes against those from ethnic minorities.^[9] As an example had referred to the murder of two young girls in Soham in 2002. He said "almost nobody" understood why it became such a big story. However, he was forced to issue a hurried apology to the parents of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman for what were widely regarded as insensitive and shocking remarks.^[10]

March 2006, secret telephone recordings

In March 2006, pressure was again put on Sir Ian to resign after it was revealed that in Autumn 2005 he had secretly taped several telephone conversations, most notably with the Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith.^[11] Although Blair received widespread criticism, the chairman of the Metropolitan Police Authority, while describing his actions as "totally unacceptable", said it was not a resigning matter.^[12] Much of the latest furore may be attributed to Blair's recent track record of courting controversy with his publicly expressed views. In his defence it has been pointed out that the recording was not illegal and it was said to be simply to enable an accurate record to be taken for him in the absence of a note taker.^[13]

March 2006, police merger

Blair has stated that he would prefer to see a single police force for Greater London, an opinion shared by Ken Livingstone, with the functions of both the City of London Police and the British Transport Police absorbed by the Metropolitan Police.^[14] Already, the duties and functions of one police force (the Royal Parks Constabulary) have been taken by the Met. However, both the City of London Police^[15] and BTP^[16] have expressed their strong objections to this proposal, while the Home Office has stated that reorganisation of policing in London is not on their agenda. The publication of reviews into the operation of the British Transport Police,^[17] and the national review of fraud by the Attorney General,^[18] combined with the ending of the police merger proposals for England and Wales, appear to rule out any possibility of police mergers in London for the foreseeable future.

May 2006, Brian Haw

Blair received further criticism when 78 police officers were involved in an operation to confiscate placards displayed by protester Brian Haw. After he initially told the Metropolitan Police Authority that the operation had cost £7,200, it later emerged that it had in fact cost £27,000.^[19] On 22 January 2007 Judge Quentin Purdy said that the conditions imposed on Haw under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005, which Haw was accused to have breached, were invalid as they lacked clarity and were "not workable". Purdy added that the conditions were not legitimate, as they should have been ordered by Ian Blair himself, rather than an officer from a lower rank.^[20]

June 2006, London terror raid

After the failure of the raid in Forest Gate, in June 2006 several sources once again called on Ian Blair to resign. Prime Minister Tony Blair confirmed his support for the Commissioner.^[21]

August 2006, comments on safety in London

In comments to The Times,^[22] Ian Blair claimed that the Haringey borough of London is safe enough to leave doors unlocked. However, Metropolitan Police Authority member Damian Hockney has described Sir Ian's remarks as "truly extraordinary".^[23]

December 2006, comments on Second World War

In a radio 4 interview^[24] Ian Blair stated that Islamic terrorism "is a far graver threat in terms of civilians than either the Cold War or the Second World War". An estimated 67,800 British civilians and 382,600 soldiers were killed in World War II. During the Cold War British cities faced the threat of nuclear attack by the Soviet Union.

January 2007, refusal by Muslim police officer to shake hands

It emerged on 21 January 2007 that, at a passing-out ceremony of the Metropolitan Police held in December 2006, an unnamed female Muslim police officer refused to shake hands with Ian Blair on religious grounds. She also refused to have a picture taken with him, for fear of its being used for "propaganda purposes". According to Scotland Yard, Ian Blair questioned the validity of her refusal.^[25][26]

March 2007, differing accounts of events in 1975

The Guardian published on 30 March 2007 a story detailing inconsistencies between an account Blair gave of his involvement in the Balcombe Street Siege on the night of December 6 1975, and the recollections of others involved at the time. In a 2006 interview, Sir Ian had stated "We turned the corner, and there is the car," he recalled. "It was a very defining moment. I think I spent the next half an hour pretending to be a bush. They got out of the car and started firing at us. It is an interesting experience being fired at when you have absolutely nothing to fire back with ... I loved it. I loved the job."

Steve Moysey, a U.S.-based British academic, was puzzled by apparent inconsistencies and contacted John Purnell (who with his partner Phil McVeigh were the first policemen to confront the Balcombe Street gang), who said: "I've never for one second associated Ian Blair with Balcombe Street in any shape or form, and his account of seeing [the terrorists] get out of the car and being shot at as they got out of the car is totally impossible." Blair admitted he had not personally seen the IRA men getting out of their car and opening fire, and stated "I didn't see it and I didn't say I saw it."

He also added that he had briefly joined the car chase after encountering the IRA car in Park Street near the original shooting. "We turned into Park Street and there were two or three vehicles in front of us going extremely fast." He believed one was the "bandit car" and another may have been a taxi, but Sir Ian and his sergeant were not able to keep up "because we were driving a Hillman Hunter which has a top speed of 25mph minus". The actual top speed of the least powerful Hillman Hunter in 1975 was 83mph and the top speed of a 70s-era taxi was 60mph. According to Purnell: "There was no chase. It was just going along at a normal speed. [The IRA men] actually said later they didn't know they were being followed."^[27]

References

External links

• Sir Ian Blair profile at BBC News
• Biography on the Metropolitan Police website

Police appointments
Preceded by Sir John Stevens	Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 2000 – 2005	Succeeded by Paul Stephenson
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 2005 – present	Incumbent