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London Mayor Sadiq Khan is understood to have resisted giving her a larger pay-off as she resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police rather than being dismissed.

Dame Cressida, 61, announced she was stepping down as head of the Met in February after losing the confidence of Mr Khan.

The crisis came after a series of scandals which seriously eroded public trust in Britain’s biggest force.

The antics of a small group of officers at Charing Cross police station, central London, who swapped racist and misogynistic messages on social media, proved the final straw.

Following an explosive report into the Charing Cross scandal, Mr Khan demanded Dame Cressida draw up a radical plan to deal with the Met’s “deep cultural issues” and was dissatisfied with the response.

The clash between the Mayor and the Commissioner came a few months after Mr Khan agreed to extend Dame Cressida’s contract for two years until April 2024.

She agreed to stay while the process to find a suitable successor was launched.

Officially, her last day is Sunday, April 10, and Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House will be in charge until a new Met chief takes over.

Once the most sought after job in British policing, the post of Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police is now seen as a “poisoned chalice.”

Mired in scandals and still struggling to rebuild public confidence following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer, the Met is a huge, unwieldy organisation with few friends at Westminister, Whitehall or London’s City Hall.

With an annual salary of at least  £250,000-a-year, the new Commissioner will be in charge of around 44,000 police officers and staff and have a budget of £3.25 billion.

The Met is likely to be hit by more scandals this year.

In a report by the official watchdog, the Met’s top brass was recently described in a watchdog report as arrogant and slow to learn – except when out under pressure.

Last year, an independent report into the axe murder of private eye Daniel Morgan branded the Met “institutionally corrupt” – a charge the force rejects.

As Mayor of London, Mr Khan plays a key role in the appointment of the new Commissioner by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

A spokesman said: “The Mayor thanks Dame Cressida Dick for her decades of public service.

“He will now work closely with the Home Secretary to appoint a new Commissioner to

address the deep cultural issues facing the Met Police Service.

“The Mayor has been clear that candidates for the next Commissioner must have a plan to restore the trust and confidence of Londoners.”

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