Terror specialist appointed as new London police chief

The UK government on Friday announced a new chief for the country’s largest police force, instructing him to restore public confidence after a spate of scandals.

Home Secretary Priti Patel has said Mark Rowley has been appointed as the next commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police.

Patel called Rowley, a former head of the Met’s counterterrorism unit, a “respected and exceptionally experienced police officer.”

But she said the commissioner’s job was “one of the most important and demanding jobs in policing,” especially given the force’s recent “mistakes”.

“Restoring public confidence and reducing crime must be its priorities,” she said in a statement.

Rowley, 57, said he was “deeply honored” by the appointment, which puts him in charge of more than 43,000 police officers and staff and a £3.24 billion ($3.9 billion) budget.

The Met oversees a population of more than eight million people across 620 square miles (1,605 square kilometers) of Greater London.

Scotland Yard, as the force is also known, was placed under special scrutiny by a police regulator last month for failing to hit standard targets.

Former Commissioner Cressida Dick resigned in February after losing the support of London Mayor Sadiq Khan after months of pressuring the behavior of her officers.

Chief among them was the detention of a member of the Diplomatic Protection Command for the high-profile kidnapping, rape and murder of a young woman – and doggedly overseeing a vigil for her.

Other officers have been convicted for illegally photographing murder victims at crime scenes and sharing racist and abusive messages on social media and messaging apps.

Rowley vowed to “lead the renewal of consent policing, which has been so badly damaged in recent years as trust and confidence have eroded.”

He vowed to “ruthlessly remove those who corrupt our integrity.”

The officer has over 30 years’ experience and previously served as Chief Constable of Surrey Police in south-east England.

He joined the Met in 2011 and led its response to terrorist attacks in 2017, when a van crashed into pedestrians on London Bridge before three attackers went on a knife-wielding rampage.

Eight people were killed and about 50 injured in the attack, according to the Islamic State group.