An independent report released this morning by Sir Thomas Winsor has condemned Sadiq Khan for failing to follow “due process” over the ousting of former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, after he withdrew his support for the Commissioner earlier this year. Winsor claims Khan effectively acted outside his remit and beyond the law…

Winsor writes:

”[Khan] failed to respect the dignity of the Commissioner as an individual, and as the holder of high public office… In this case, none of the statutory steps set out in section 48 of the Police Reform and Social Responsibility Act 2011 and summarised above were followed.The Commissioner was given a very short period in which to consider her position following that news. She was left in a position whereby she felt, even if others might have felt differently, that she had no option but to announce that she would step aside, in part to protect the Metropolitan Police itself.”

Khan himself is inevitably shifting the blame, insisting the report “is clearly biased and ignores the facts“. No surprises there…