Cliff Notes
- Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Ian Blair has died at the age of 72, having led the force from 2005 to 2008 during a tumultuous period marked by the 7/7 London bombings.
- His tenure was marred by the controversial shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes, which raised accusations of cover-up and obstructing inquiries, overshadowing some of his contributions to police reform and diversity initiatives.
- Despite challenges, Blair played a role in improving relations with MI5 and advocated for neighbourhood policing, elements that have since become models for other police forces across Britain.
Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Ian Blair has died, Sky News understands | UK News
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Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Ian Blair has died aged 72, Sky News understands.
Lord Blair led the force for three years between 2005 and 2008 and was in charge during the 7/7 London bombings.
The 20th anniversary of the attack, which killed 52 people, was on Monday.
The Met’s response notoriously including the shooting dead of an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, at Stockwell Tube station two weeks later.
He was killed under the mistaken belief he was a suicide bomber.
False details about how he acted were put out by the Met, insinuating the Brazilian was in some way responsible for what happened.
Lord Blair repeated those details and was later accused of a cover-up and obstructing inquiries into the incident.
“It effectively blighted his time as commissioner,” said Sky News crime correspondent Martin Brunt.
“But there were good things. He took hold of the Met and forged a much better relationship with MI5 in the wake of the 7/7 bombings,” Brunt adds.
“Some of his big things were diversity and he reformed the way the Met recruited – people from ethnic communities.
“He was a big supporter of neighbourhood policing. Although that, over the years, dwindled due to a lack of funding; but it’s more or less the model police forces across Britain are reintroducing.”
Originally appointed by Labour, Lord Blair quit as commissioner in late 2008 saying he did not have the confidence of the new Tory mayor Boris Johnson.
Lord Blair was seen as a liberal figure – sometimes jokingly referred to as “PC Blair” by other officers – and was active in the House of Lords right up until his death.
He joined the police in 1970s and served with other forces before joining the Met, where his work as a detective included investigating the fatal 1987 King’s Cross fire.
Lord Blair later held senior positions for the Thames Valley and Surrey forces before returning to the capital as deputy commissioner – and then the top job.
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