The future of the Metropolitan Police commissioner hangs in the balance with London mayor Sadiq Khan saying Dame Cressida Dick has just “days or weeks” to come up with plan to tackle sexism and racism in the force.

Mr Khan warned he is ready to “take action” against her if she doesn’t restore trust in the Met by rooting out racist and sexist officers.

The mayor put the force “on notice” last week and said on Wednesday that his trust and confidence in Dame Cressida hinges on her plans to win back public trust.

The commissioner is appointed by the home secretary, who consults the London mayor on the appointment.

Mr Khan’s comments come after a series of disturbing messages exchanged by officers, primarily based in Charing Cross, were published by The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) last week.

London mayor expects answers from commissioner

Asked if he still has trust in Dame Cressida, Mr Khan told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: “That will be contingent upon the response from the commissioner the next time I see her.”

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Mr Khan said: “If it is the case that I no longer have trust and confidence in anybody who works for me, I’ll make that quite clear and take action.”

He added that he sees the commissioner “on a regular basis” and he expects “to see a response to the two big questions that I posed”.

He said Dame Cressida had “days and weeks” to come up with a response. “One is what is the commissioner’s response to very serious findings not just of the IOPC but other examples of racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and the like in the police service.”

He also said: “The first part of what I expect to see is – what is the response from the commissioner as to how she intends to address the culture, address the situation, where too many police officers are behaving in a way that’s unacceptable.

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“And by the way, nine of those 14 police officers – you mentioned Charing Cross – are still serving.

“And secondly, what is the plan to win back the trust and confidence in the public in relation to the police service that police our capital city?”

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The mayor added that two of the nine police officers still serving after being caught up in the scandal have been promoted, while a 10th – a former officer – is still working for the Met Police as a contractor in a staff role.

Investigation uncovers racism, misogyny and homophobia

The police watchdog published WhatsApp and Facebook messages, which were uncovered as part of a probe into behaviour within the Charing Cross team between 2016 and 2018.

Almost 14 officers were investigated and two were found to have a case to answer for gross misconduct.

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One was sacked and another resigned before he would have been dismissed.

Asked if all of those involved should be sacked, Mr Khan said: “I think Londoners can’t understand why nine of these 14 police officers are still serving.

“I’ve asked that question.”

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