London Mayor Boris Johnson has been attacked by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith over his involvement in the departure of Britain's most senior police officer.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Sir Ian Blair said yesterday he could not continue without the support of the Mayor.
Sir Ian said Mr Johnson wasted no time in using a meeting on his first day in power as Police Authority chairman on Wednesday to oust him.
Mr Johnson praised the senior officer's lasting and distinguished service, but said the force needed fresh leadership.
Ms Smith said deputy commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson would take over as acting head when Sir Ian stood down on December 1.
She said: "I pay tribute to Sir Ian for the massive reductions in crime which his leadership at the Met has overseen, and his continuing efforts to tackle gun, gang and knife crime.
"Sir Ian can be proud of his contribution locally and nationally."
Later, speaking on BBC's Question Time, she said: "There's a process in place that the Mayor chose not to respect.
"What is important when you are both choosing and when you're supporting somebody that you're asking to do a job like that is that you keep party politics out of it. You need to work alongside people and frankly you should put some time and effort into that.
"The Mayor said on the first day in his job he didn't feel he had confidence in Sir Ian and that's why he took the decision to resign."
She also levelled criticism at the national media for their attacks on Sir Ian saying: "We can't expect people to resign because there's a story about them on the front page of the Daily Mail."
When she was asked why she had not tried harder to dissuade Sir Ian from resigning, Ms Smith told the programme: "When someone comes and says to you they want to offer their resignation I don't think it would be right to persuade him against what he had decided to do to stay."
The sudden departure threw the smouldering tensions between Sir Ian and the capital's new Tory administration wide open.
There has been constant speculation since Mr Johnson's election in May that Sir Ian's days in power were numbered.
Sir Ian has been dogged by controversy – the most recent claims involving contracts awarded to a close friend and a race row among senior officers.
The senior officer admitted the inquest into the death of Jean Charles de Menezes was the force's greatest challenge since the Stephen Lawrence inquiry.
But it was the changing political landscape in London that finally finished off the one-time darling of New Labour.
Former London Mayor Ken Livingston, a close ally of Sir Ian, said he regretted the "political" decision.
He said: "This makes the role of the Metropolitan Police Commissioner much more political.
Also yesterday policing minister Tony McNulty hit out at opposition criticism of Sir Ian, saying some of the comments "defy belief".
Speaking on Sky News, Mr McNulty said: "The hysterical and overly political nature of some of the comments by national opposition spokespeople really does defy belief and I think is actually quite strange and shows a profound lack of knowledge of policing in London.
"We know clearly there are a whole range of issues that Sir Ian was facing... but to simply not even note the contribution of this man to policing in London in quite the way that Chris Huhne and Dominic Grieve have done I think shows both of them ill-fit to be relative spokespersons for their party."
Following several hours of fevered speculation yesterday, Sir Ian finally announced his resignation with a measured statement.
Defending his record at the top of the Met he said it was the duty of the Commissioner to lead the force "through good times and bad".
But he said: "Without the Mayor's backing I do not think I can continue in the job."
Sir Ian added: "I am resigning not because of any failures of my service and not because the pressures of the office and the many stories that surround it are too much.
"I am resigning in the best interests of the people of London and of the Metropolitan Police Service.
"However, at a meeting on Wednesday the new mayor made clear, in a very pleasant and determined way, that he wished there to be a change of leadership at the Met."
Mr Johnson will chair his first meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), the Met's board of governors, at City Hall on Monday.
Mr Johnson paid tribute to Sir Ian's record but said it was time for "new leadership" at the top of the force.
He said: "He can be very proud of his record in helping to keep millions of Londoners safe from harm.
"However, there comes a time in any organisation when it becomes clear that it would benefit from new leadership and new clarity of purpose.
"I believe that time is now."
The full article contains 843 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
