| Sir Paul Stephenson QPM |
|
|---|---|
| Stephenson pictured in South London, May 2010 | |
| Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service | |
| In office 28 January 2009 – 18 July 2011 |
|
| Deputy | Tim Godwin |
| Preceded by | Sir Ian Blair |
| Succeeded by | Tim Godwin (acting)[1] |
| Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service | |
| In office 16 March 2005 – 28 January 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Sir Ian Blair |
| Succeeded by | Tim Godwin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Paul Robert Stephenson 26 September 1953 Bacup, Lancashire |
| Profession | Police officer |
Sir Paul Robert Stephenson, QPM (born 26 September 1953)[2] was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 2009-2011, the most senior police officer within the United Kingdom.
On 17 July 2011, Stephenson announced his intention to resign from the post of Commissioner as the result of speculation regarding his connection with Neil Wallis, arrested on suspicion of involvement in the News International phone hacking scandal.[3][4] Tim Godwin was the Acting Commissioner until a replacement was announced. Following a selection process, under the stewardship of the Home Secretary, Mayor of London and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Bernard Hogan-Howe was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on 12th September 2011..[5]
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Stephenson grew up in Bacup in the Rossendale district of east Lancashire, the son of a butcher.[6] He attended Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School where he became head boy.[7][8]
Stephenson originally desired a career in the footwear industry, and took up work at the Bacup Shoe Company factory in nearby Stacksteads. By the age of 20 he was made a trainee manager, but in 1975 he followed his elder brother into the police force.[9][10]
He now shares a home in Lancashire with his wife Lynda and their three children.[11]
He joined the police service in 1975, aged 21. In 1982 Stephenson attended the Bramshill police training college near Hook in Hampshire when a sergeant on the Special Course at the same time as Sir Hugh Orde. He became an inspector in Burnley and a chief inspector in Colne. He became a superintendent at the age of 34 in February 1988 when in Accrington as sub-divisional commander, and moved to Ulster in the (former) RUC in the early 1990s as a sub-divisional commander. He returned to Lancashire in 1994 as a sub-divisional commander in Preston. He has also served as assistant chief constable in Merseyside Police starting in 1994 and deputy chief constable in Lancashire from May 1999 under Chief Constable Pauline Clare. Stephenson was appointed as chief constable of Lancashire Constabulary in July 2002 and promoted to deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in February 2005.
In September 2008 it was announced he would become acting commissioner of the Met from 1 December, following the resignation of Sir Ian Blair. In January 2009 it was announced that he had been appointed as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.[12]
Stephenson was nicknamed "Rusty" by colleagues, referring to his "near-permanent tan".[9]
In July 2011, Stephenson's judgement was questioned after it emerged that Neil Wallis, a former executive editor of the News of the World had acted as a media consultant to the MPS in 2009 and 2010[13], and also that in early 2011 Stephenson received £12,000 of free hospitality from a Champneys health spa, where Wallis was working at the time.[14] On 14 July 2011, Wallis was arrested by the Metropolitan Police investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal.[6]
On 17 July, in a lengthy statement[15] in which he defended his actions, Stephenson announced his intention to resign as commissioner, saying that questions surrounding his integrity would otherwise become detrimental to the Met as a whole. The Deputy Commissioner, Tim Godwin, will become Acting Commissioner in the interim between Sir Paul's resignation and the appointment of his successor[1], who will be announced following a lengthy process to find the right candidate for the senior post overseen by the Home Secretary, Mayor of London and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority.[16] His five-year term in the £253,000-a-year post was not due to end until at least January 2014.[9]
This is an excerpt from Stephenson's statement.
I have this afternoon informed the Palace, Home Secretary and the Mayor of my intention to resign as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met’s links with News International at a senior level and in particular in relation to Mr Neil Wallis who as you know was arrested in connection with Operation Weeting last week.
Stephenson was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for services to policing in May 2000,[12] followed in 2007 by an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.[17] He was knighted in the Queen's 2008 Birthday Honours.
| Police appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir Ian Blair |
Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 2005–2009 |
Succeeded by Tim Godwin (acting) |
| Preceded by Sir Ian Blair |
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis 2009–2011 Acting: 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Tim Godwin (acting) |
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