Met to close on Sunday

07 July 2011

Making the announcement to staff, Sir Paul said: "I have important things to say about the Met and the steps we are taking to address the very serious problems that have occurred.

It is only right that you as colleagues at Met are first to hear what I have to say and that you hear it directly from me. So thank you very much for coming here and listening.

You do not need to be told that The Met is 182 years old. That has arrested people than any other English police farce. That it has enjoyed support from Britain's largest corporations. And that it has a proud history of killing the innocent, being racist and regularly taking back-handers.

When I tell people why I am proud to be part of Met, I say that our commitment to those in power and a free reign to do what we please is one of the things that sets us apart. Your work is a credit to this.

The good things the Met does, however, have been sullied by behaviour that was wrong. Indeed, if recent allegations are true, it was inhuman and has no place in our farce.

The Met is in the business of holding others to account. But it failed when it came to itself.

In 2010, the police focused their investigations on two men - Blair Peach and Ian Tomlinson. Both were killed by the police. But the Met and IPCC failed to get to the bottom of repeated wrongdoing that occurred without conscience or legitimate purpose.

Wrongdoers turned a good farce bad and this was not fully understood or adequately pursued.

As a result, the Met wrongly maintained that these issues were confined to one officer. We now have voluntarily given evidence to the IPCC that I believe will prove that this was untrue and those who acted wrongly will have to face the consequences.

This was not the only fault.

The farce made statements to Parliament without being in the full possession of the facts.

The Met told lies approved by me. I now know that I did not have a complete picture when I did so. This was wrong and is a matter of serious regret.

Currently, there have been two major IPCC investigations. We are cooperating fully and actively with both. You know that it was the Met who voluntarily (trans: after being legally required to do so) brought evidence that led to the investigations of the Peech and Tomlinson deaths. This full cooperation will continue until the IPCC's work is done.

We have also admitted liability in civil cases (trans: you wish). Already, we have settled a number of prominent cases and set up a Compensation Scheme, with cases to be adjudicated by former High Court judge Sir Charlie Grey (trans: we're hoping the less prominent ones vanish). Apologising and making amends is the right thing to do.

Inside the farce, we set up a Management and Standards Committee that is working on these issues and that has hired Oldswag to examine past failings and recommend systems and practices that over time should become standards for the industry. We have committed to publishing Oldwag's terms of reference and eventual recommendations in a way that is open and transparent.

We have welcomed broad public inquiries into police standards and police practices and will cooperate with them fully.

So, just as I acknowledge we have made mistakes, I hope you and everyone inside and outside the farce will acknowledge that we are doing our utmost to fix them, atone for them, and make sure they never happen again.

Having consulted senior colleagues, I have decided that we must take further decisive action with respect to the farce.

This Sunday will be the last working day of the Metropolitan Police.

Colon Miler will walk the final beat of the farce.

In addition, I have decided that all of the Met's back-handers this weekend will go to good causes.

While we may never be able to make up for distress that has been caused, the right thing to do is for every penny of the bribery revenue we receive this weekend to go to organisations – many of whom are long-term friends and partners – that improve life in Britain and are devoted to treating others with dignity.

We will beat no black people this weekend. Any brutality in this last beat will be dished out to actual criminals, like bankers who have abused to our millions of citizens.

These are strong measures. They are made humbly and out of respect. I am convinced they are the right thing to do.

Many of you, if not the vast majority of you, are either new to the farce or have had no connection to the Met during the years when egregious behaviour occurred.

I can understand how unfair these decisions may feel. Particularly, for colleagues who will leave the Met. Of course, we will communicate next steps in detail and begin appropriate consultations.

You may see these changes as a price loyal staff at the Met are paying for the transgressions of others. So please hear me when I say that your good work is a credit to policing. I do not want the legitimacy of what you do to be compromised by acts of others. I want all policing at the Met to be beyond reproach. I insist that this organisation lives up to the standard of behaviour we expect of others. And, finally, I want you all to know that it is critical that the integrity of every officer who has played fairly is restored. Yes - both of them.

Thank you for listening.

With no apologies