And The New Met Commissioner Is...

Sir Paul Stephenson. Yes, the one that was Acting Commissioner yesterday and Sir Ian Blair's deputy for the previous 4 years. Not exactly the wind of change then. A quick sniff around the papers puts together this word painting of the man now commanding our local police force and a salary in excess of £250k pa, whilst leading the national fight against terrorism: "Rusty" the numbers man, a "gritty, no nonsense copper who likes an argument", "long favoured by Johnson", a "safe pair of hands" , a "good man" and "straight talking". When it comes to making his mark and restoring morale to the Met, Ken LIvingstone, speaking on the Today programme, reckoned "the right wing press need to leave him alone" whilst former copper, Brian Paddick suggested the rank and file police will be happy with anyone who isn't Ian Blair. All we can say is, good luck, Sir Paul. We'll be watching. (Image / Steve Punter)