Sadiq Khan says the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner will have to have a ‘robust plan’ to deal with the ‘cultural problems’ at the force, or he will oppose their appointment.

The Mayor of London expressed deep concerns that public trust and confidence in the country’s biggest police force ‘has been shattered so badly’, amid the ongoing fall out from Dame Cressida Dick stepping down.

The Home Secretary Priti Patel is legally obliged to consider the opinion of Mr Khan when appointing a new chief for the scandal-hit force.

Dame Cressida was in charge for a rolling series of calamities at the Met and had long faced widespread calls to quit in the run-up to her unexpected departure on Thursday evening.

She dramatically announced she was resigning hours after insisting she would stay on as leader after Mr Khan made clear he had no confidence in her plans to reform the service.

Writing in The Observer on Sunday, the Mayor said he thought trust and confidence could only be rebuilt with new leadership at the top of the Met.

Labour’s Mr Khan wrote that he will ‘work closely’ with Ms Patel on the selection of Dame Cressida’s successor.

While the Conservative Home Secretary holds the power over the appointment, she must account for the Mayor’s preference.

Mr Khan wrote: ‘I will not support the appointment of a new commissioner unless they can clearly demonstrate that they understand the scale of the cultural problems within the Met and the urgency with which they must be addressed.

‘In short, they need to get it, and they need to have a proper and robust plan to deal with it.’

He also spoke of being reminded about ‘the bad old days of the Met from my childhood’.

Mr Khan has previously told Metro.co.uk about how he ‘used to cross the road to avoid being near police’.

The latest comments could heighten tensions that arose between the mayor and Ms Patel over the manner of Dame Cressida’s departure, just months after the Home Secretary agreed a two-year extension to her contract.

Home Office sources said Ms Patel was angered by Mr Khan’s failure to inform her that he had called Dame Cressida to a meeting on Thursday afternoon, which she considered ‘rude and unprofessional’.

Dame Cressida, however, chose not to attend after reportedly being informed that Mr Khan had no confidence in her plans for reform.

Sources close to the mayor said that it had been a regular bilateral meeting and that it was up to Dame Cressida to inform Ms Patel of her decision herself.

Ms Patel has said ‘strong and decisive leadership’ will be required to rebuild public confidence in the Met’s ‘integrity and professionalism’.

Damaging scandals have battered the Met’s reputation in recent times, with its handling of the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving Met officer – and a vigil in her memory sparking outrage.

Among those at the vigil was Patsy Stevenson, who was pictured being arrested in what was seen as a heavy handed and insensitive response.

Ms Stevenson, who has since launched legal action against the police, was among those to welcome the news Dame Cressida had gone, telling the Sunday Times that she ‘stopped in the street and almost cried’ when she heard the commissioner had resigned.

Last week, a report found officers were sending each other racist, sexist, ableist and homophobic messages at Charing Cross Station, where there was a ‘culture of bullying and harassment’.

Labour’s shadow home secretary said policing in the UK more widely was facing a ‘perfect storm’.

Calling for a ‘proper, serious programme of reform’, Yvette Cooper told BBC One’s Sunday Morning programme: ‘I think we see the scale of issues with the Charing Cross inquiry, and we need to see reforms but it’s really worth stressing this. This is not about just one individual solving this or one police force.

‘You’ve seen similar issues around Leicestershire, Sussex, Police Scotland, other forces as well. There is a real perfect storm facing policing right now and it is a serious one.

‘You have a situation where crime is going up, prosecutions are going down, confidence is falling. There’s a legacy of damaging cuts, and also these individual toxic cases around the culture.’

The outgoing commissioner first came to prominence for being in charge when the Met wrongly shot Jean Charles de Menezes dead at Stockwell Tube station in 2005.

In recent days she has been labelled ‘calamity Cressida’.

In a statement on Thursday, Dame Cressida had said she was ‘incredibly proud’ of what her officers had achieved during her time in the role.

Mr Khan added: ‘I’m optimistic that we can meet the challenges ahead.

‘I believe in the Met, and I know it contains many brilliant police officers who share my aspirations for policing in London, and who are keen to play their full part in raising standards, adhering to the values Londoners expect and ensuring the bond with the communities they serve is restored and strengthened.’

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