New Scotland Yard supremo steels himself for challenge

The 53-year-old, a former district commander in Doncaster, was named the new Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police after convincing interviewers he could lead a “new, more transparent” era for the force.

Speaking briefly after the announcement at Scotland Yard, Mr Hogan-Howe said he wanted to lead a force that criminals fear and the public trust.

He was parachuted into Scotland Yard as Acting Deputy Commissioner in July after Sir Paul Stephenson and former Assistant Commissioner John Yates quit in quick succession.

Mr Hogan-Howe will be in charge of more than 50,000 staff, including 32,000 officers. The force, the biggest in the UK, includes more than a fifth of all police in England and Wales.

The ex-Merseyside chief immediately takes over the £260,000-a-year post left vacant by Sir Paul’s resignation over the phone hacking scandal.

He beat Stephen House, Sir Hugh Orde and former Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin to the job after several rounds of interviews with the Home Office and Metropolitan Police Authority.

Mr Hogan-Howe, who presided over a 40 per cent crime reduction during his tenure in Merseyside, said he regarded the Met job as the “highest accolade that any police officer could have”.

Flanked by Home Secretary Theresa May and London Mayor Boris Johnson at New Scotland Yard last night, Mr Hogan-Howe said he wanted to tell the people of London that “the idea is to make the criminals fear the police and what they are doing now”.

Mr Johnson identified last month’s rioting across London as a key part of his reasoning for the appointment of Mr Hogan-Howe, who he said would provide the “firm, strategic lead our great city needs”.

David Blunkett, the Labour MP for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough and a former Home Secretary, said Mr Hogan-Howe was a “really good guy” and hailed him as “a Sheffielder through and through”.

Mr Blunkett added: “He has done a tough job in South Yorkshire, stayed true to Merseyside and is an excellent appointment.

“I hope he will be able to use some of that Sheffield steel to stand up to Boris Johnson and to bring that grit and common sense to bear with what everyone these days is calling ‘tough love’.”