Tory leadership race: Tugendhat vows to strip Met of counter-terrorism role
Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat has vowed to break up the Metropolitan Police if elected by taking away the force’s responsibilities for counter-terrorism.
Tugendhat said today that he would instead hand these powers to the National Crime Agency (NCA) – the UK’s agency responsible for things like organised crime, economic crime, cyber crime and human trafficking.
The Foreign Affairs Committee chair also told The Sun he would declare cyber crime a national security threat and add someone to the National Security Council who is responsible for this field.
It comes after home secretary Priti Patel this month hired former top counter-terrorism chief Sir Mark Rowley as the new Met commissioner.
The Met was last month placed into special measures by England’s police watchdog, after a series of scandals including the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving officer Wayne Couzens.
Other scandals include the botched investigation of serial killer Stephen Port and evidence of widespread racism, homophobia and misogyny in a major central London police station.
The force now will come under more intense scrutiny from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services and will need to submit a report into how its culture will improve.
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The urgent issues the Met is facing have nothing to do with its responsibilities or its size. We know there are some deep cultural and performance issues in policing right across the country and the new Met Commissioner is committed to reforming and addressing that culture in our city’s police service.
“Despite the Government slashing funding for the Met and preventative services in the capital, over the past six years the Mayor has overseen record investment from City Hall in policing.
“The focus should be on fully funding the NICC, providing increased funding for officers and staff and doing much more to help young Londoners access the positive opportunities they deserve.”