Sadiq Khan ‘looking forward’ to City Hall grilling over Dame Cressida Dick’s sacking

The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said that he is “looking forward” to being questioned over the sacking of former Met Police chief Dame Cressida Dick by a City Hall committee.

It comes after the London Assembly police and crime committee voted to invoke its unique summons power for the first time.

Members agreed to formally summon the mayor for questioning - and he could face a fine or three months in prison if he fails to attend to answer questions on the matter.

The committee voted 5-4 in favour of the motion, which compels Mr Khan to attend the committee at 10am on Wednesday, November 16.

But speaking at an event in Bermondsey on Friday (September 30), the mayor said he is “looking forward” to setting out why he thought Cressida Dick needed to go.

“While the Conservative party, the former prime minister, the former home secretary, the former police commissioner were in one place, myself and Londoners were in another place,” he told LondonWorld.

“I’m on the side of women and girls, I’m on the side of black Londoners, I’m on the side of the LGBT+ community, whereas the Conservative party is on the side of a situation which led to a plummeting of trust and confidence.”

Mayor Khan has become the first sitting mayor to be formally summoned, after the publication of Sir Tom Winsor’s report into issues around the commissioner’s departure.

Last month, the report found Mr Khan had “breached due process” and committed an “abuse of the power conferred upon him”, after the commissioner was “intimidated” into quitting.

Susan Hall, leader of the City Hall Conservatives, said: “The Winsor review raised important questions about the circumstances under which the former Met commissioner stood down.

“The committee has statutory powers to summons the mayor - which we used for the first time today.”

Sir Tom Winsor and former home secretary Priti Patel have been invited to attend the committee hearing.

The Winsor report found Sadiq Khan “failed to respect the dignity of the commissioner as an individual, and as the holder of high public office”.

Ms Hall, who is chairman of the committee, added: “We believe, given the seriousness of the review’s findings, the mayor needs to address unanswered questions that have emerged.

“The public will rightly want to know what happened and what lessons need to be learned for the future.”

The report also proposed a series of reforms to the Home Office, including boosting the London Assembly’s powers, to ensure this does not happen again.

Dame Cressida Dick resigned in April following a series of scandals that resulted in a loss of public confidence in the Met Police.

Crises included the murder of Sarah Everard by serving cop Wayne Couzens, officers taking photos of the bodies of murdered black sisters Nicole Smallman and Bibaa Henry and shock racist, misogynistic and homophobic messages emerging from Charing Cross police station.

Sir Mark Rowley, a former head of counter-terrorism took over as Met Commissioner on September 12.

Mr Khan previously said he is confident that Sir Mark will address the “deep cultural issues” in the force.