Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes Several months into his tenure, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot and killed by
armed police who mistakenly believed he was a
suicide bomber. After the shooting Blair 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". Blair stated that a warning had been issued prior to the shooting. The IPCC held an investigation into what later turned out to be a false statement, and into allegations of attempts to delay an inquiry. On 2 August 2007 the IPCC announced its findings that the allegations against Blair could not 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. After Blair learned that the shooting of de Menezes had been a case of mistaken identity, he briefly considered resigning. During the investigation by the
Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into the wrongful shooting, one of his
Deputy Assistant Commissioners,
Brian Paddick, stated just six hours after the shooting that a member of Blair's private office team had believed the wrong man had been targeted. This allegation was contradicted by New Scotland Yard, and Paddick said that this amounted to accusing him of lying. In June 2006, a leaked copy of the
Independent Police Complaints Commission report sparked further criticism and calls to quit. On 1 November 2007, a jury convicted the Metropolitan Police of violating
health and safety laws, highlighting 19 "catastrophic errors" but said it was an "isolated breach under quite extraordinary circumstances". Blair rejected a
vote of no confidence by the
London Assembly a week later. Blair continued to receive the support of the
Metropolitan Police Authority, the head of which said that he would not have accepted any resignation offered by Blair.
Operation Finnean In 2005–06 Blair was involved in Operation Finnean, a £280,000 investigation into supermodel
Kate Moss's alleged possession and distribution of a
Class A drug. It has been alleged that the operation was systematically sabotaged by officers eager to undermine Blair and
Tarique Ghaffur's high-profile stance on celebrity drug taking, and thereby erode their authority.
Bonus pay In 2007 Blair was criticised by senior colleagues at
New Scotland Yard after he sought a £25,000 performance bonus during criminal proceedings over the shooting of de Menezes,
Terrorism In November 2005, a controversy about detention without charge proposals led to Blair becoming 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. After the failure of the
Forest Gate raid, several sources once again called on Blair to resign. Prime Minister
Tony Blair (no relation) confirmed his support for the Commissioner. In a 2006
BBC Radio 4 interview, (Sir 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".
IT contract The
Metropolitan Police Authority requested on 28 July 2008 that Blair face an inquiry over a series of IT contracts with the Metropolitan Police worth £3 million won by Impact Plus, a consultancy owned by Andy Miller, who was a long-time friend of Blair. The commissioner denied any wrongdoing and said that he was "open and straightforward in informing both the Metropolitan Police Service and the MPA about [his] relationship [with Miller]". He said that he had set out in writing his connection with Miller and had no part in the evaluation process. It has however been reported in the press that on one occasion another company was turned down for a contract won by Impact Plus, despite its bid being a third of the winning offer.
Race relations In January 2006 he described the media as
institutionally racist 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. As an example, he 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 an apology to the parents of
Holly Wells and
Jessica Chapman. During a passing-out ceremony of the Metropolitan Police held in December 2006, an unnamed female Muslim police officer refused to shake hands with Blair, claiming religious grounds, and refused to have a picture taken with him, for fear of its being used for "propaganda purposes". According to Scotland Yard, Blair questioned the validity of her refusal. In June 2008,
Commander Shabir Hussain alleged being repeatedly rejected for promotion owing to racial discrimination, explicitly suggesting that Blair was using his influence to favour a "golden circle" of white officers and to turn down applications made by black and Asian candidates, who were better qualified for the promotion. In another case, the country's most senior Asian police officer
Tarique Ghaffur was considering commencing an
employment tribunal over being sidelined by Blair in Olympics security planning, and being asked to keep quiet about his concerns about the new 42 days detention laws for terror suspects. In a subsequent press conference, Ghaffur claimed that in a face-to-face meeting with Blair, the latter threatened to remove him from his post if he went ahead with his legal action.
Secretly taped telephone conversations In March 2006, it was revealed that in late 2005 he had secretly taped several telephone conversations, including with the
Attorney General,
Lord Goldsmith. Blair received an unprecedented written warning from his bosses, but the chairman of the
Metropolitan Police Authority, while describing his actions as "totally unacceptable", said it was not a resigning matter. 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.
Single police force Blair stated that he would prefer to see a single police force for the whole of
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. 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 and BTP 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, and the national review of fraud by the Attorney General, 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.
Brian Haw Blair was criticised 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 cost £27,000.
Haringey comments In 2006, in comments to
The Times, Blair claimed that the
London Borough of Haringey was a safe enough place to leave doors unlocked. Metropolitan Police Authority member
Damian Hockney described Blair's remarks as "truly extraordinary".
Unsupported claims of involvement in the Balcombe Street siege 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 6 December 1975, and the recollections of others involved at the time. In a 2006 interview, Blair had stated: "We turned the corner, and there is the car ... 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." 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. Purnell 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."
Resignation In May 2008, it was reported in the press that Blair's contract as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service would not be renewed when it expired in 2010. On 2 October 2008, Blair announced he would resign as Metropolitan Police Commissioner, with effect from 1 December 2008. He blamed a lack of support from London mayor
Boris Johnson, saying that "without the mayor's backing I do not think I can continue". Home Secretary Jacqui Smith and Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to Blair's service. Sir Paul Stephenson took over on 28 November 2008. Blair was entitled to a full police pension, estimated to be worth about £160,000 per year, based on his £240,000 commissioner's salary. ==Peerage and the House of Lords==