Sir Mark Rowley is the new commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, the Home Office has said.

The 57-year-old replaces Dame Cressida Dick, who was forced out in February after the mayor of London accused her of failing to deal with racism and misogyny in the force, the biggest in Britain.

Sadiq Khan said at the time the only way to “deliver the scale of the change required” at the Met Police was to have new leadership.

In her resignation statement, Dame Cressida said: “It is clear the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue.”

Sir Mark, a former counter-terrorism policing chief, was formally appointed by the Queen following a recommendation from the Home Secretary, and input from the Mayor of London, following what was described as “a highly competitive process”.

The news comes less than two weeks after the force was put into special measures by the police watchdog.

A statement from the Met Police said the new Commissioner would focus on “getting the basics right, restoring confidence in policing, delivering on the Beating Crime Plan and making our capital’s streets safer”.

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Mr Khan said after a “series of appalling scandals” had exposed “deep cultural problems” within the Met he was looking forward to supporting Sir Mark in “restoring trust and confidence in the police, to ensure that the Mets gets the basics of policing right”.

He added: “Sir Mark has made clear to me that he is determined to be a reforming Commissioner, committed to implementing a robust plan to rebuild trust and confidence in the police and to drive through the urgent reforms and step change in culture and performance Londoners deserve.

Priorities

“As Mayor, I will support and hold him to these promises as I continue to hold the Met to account.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said Sir Mark was “taking on one of the most important and demanding jobs in policing, leading the country’s largest force at a time when public trust in the Metropolitan Police has been severely undermined by a number of significant failings”.

She said rebuilding public trust and delivering on crime reduction “must be his priority”.

Sir Mark was chief constable of Surrey Police from 2008-2011 and joined the Metropolitan Police Service in 2011.

There, he was a former assistant commissioner for specialist crime and operations and then National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for counter-terrorism.

He was knighted in 2018 for his “exceptional contribution to national security and national leadership at a time of unprecedented threat”.

A job advert to find Dame Cressida’s successor was published in April.

It said the successful candidate would be responsible for addressing “serious failings” within the force.

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