Former counter-terrorism chief appointed new commissioner of Metropolitan Police

Sir Mark Rowley, former head of the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism unit has been appointed the new commissioner of the force. He takes over from Dame Cressida Dick, who stepped down in February following a series of scandals.

Sir Mark was head of the Met Police's counter-terrorism unit between 2014 and 2018 and left to take a role in private industry. He will serve an initial five-year term, with an annual salary of just under £293,000.

Sir Mark said he was "deeply honoured" to be appointed as commissioner.

"Our mission is to lead the renewal of policing by consent which has been so heavily dented in recent years, as trust and confidence have fallen," he said in a statement.

"We will deliver more trust, less crime and high standards for London and beyond, and we will work with London's diverse communities as we together renew the uniquely British invention of 'policing by consent'."

Sir Mark graduated from Cambridge University and began his police career as a constable in the West Midlands force. He was chief constable of Surrey Police from 2008 to 2011 and then joined the Met as the assistant commissioner for specialist crime and operations.

He was knighted in 2018 after leading the national police response to the Manchester Arena bombing, the Westminster Bridge attack and the London Bridge attack.

After leaving the Met Police, he worked on security and policy projects including a review with the Commission for Countering Extremism.

In his new role, Sir Mark will face a series of challenges, including rebuilding trust in the Met Police, which has recently been hit by a series of scandals. These scandals include the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving policeman and the police handling of a subsequent vigil and a group of officers at Charing Cross police station sharing racist and homophobic messages.

The force is also currently under special measures imposed by national inspectors of policing standards.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said: "I look forward to working closely with Sir Mark.

"This will be a challenging period, but with a focus on tackling neighbourhood crime and delivering the basics of policing, Sir Mark is committed to tackling the significant challenges confronting the force and to making London's streets safer by driving down crime and bringing more criminals to justice."

Former Met Det Supt Shabnam Chaudhri said Sir Mark had "a mountain to climb" to rebuild trust in the force, but added it was "really good" he had recently been working outside of the Met, which meant he was "completely fresh and untarnished".

However, former shadow home secretary Diane Abbott said it was "disappointing that Priti Patel and Sadiq Khan decided to bring back Mark Rowley from retirement".

She continued: "He spent much of his career in the Met. No evidence that he is a reformer. Missed opportunity."

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