Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Ian Blair has died at the age of 72.
The crossbench peer was in charge of the force between 2005 and 2008, including during the London bombings of 7 July, 2005.
He was knighted in 1999 and took a seat as a peer in 2010, when he became Lord Blair of Boughton.
His death was confirmed by Christ Church Oxford, where he studied English and later became an honorary student.
In a statement on Friday, which has since been taken down, Christ Church Oxford said: “The Christ Church community would like to extend its condolences to the family of Ian Blair, the Lord Blair of Boughton QPM, who has died at the age of 72.
“Lord Blair, an alumnus and honorary student (fellow) of Christ Church, served as the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 2005 to 2008.”
Lord Blair was born in Chester in 1953. He joined the Met in 1974 as part of its graduate entry scheme, before climbing through the ranks and serving in both uniform and the force’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
He went on to lead major investigations, including the response to the King’s Cross fire of 1987.
London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan said: “Lord Ian Blair dedicated over 30 years to public service as a police officer – rising through the ranks from a graduate recruit to becoming Commissioner of the Met.
“My thoughts are with his loved ones.”
Lord Blair became chief constable of Surrey Police in 1998, before returning to the Met two years later as deputy commissioner.
Lord Blair was appointed commissioner of the force in February 2005 – just months before a series of bombings killed 52 people on London’s transport network on 7 July of that year.
Firearms officers shot dead Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground station two weeks later, after mistaking him for a terror suspect.
The force was found to have breached health and safety laws in the shooting.
While an Independent Police Complaints Commission report into the incident cleared Blair of personal wrongdoing, he sustained repeated criticism over the shooting throughout the rest of his tenure.
square COUNTER-TERRORISM How 7/7 changed the intelligence services forever
Read More
In a 2010 interview at the Hay festival, Blair said he “regrets” and was “accountable” for the shooting but he was “not responsible”.
He resigned in 2008 after losing the support of the then-mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
In his resignation letter, Lord Blair said: “It has been the proudest task of my life to lead the men and women of the Metropolitan Police.
“It is the duty of the commissioner to lead the Met through good times and bad: To accept the burdens and pressures of office and, above all, to be a steward of the service he commands.”
In an interview with The Guardian in 2009, Blair also said the Met had “a history of doing the best things in policing that have been done anywhere in the world, and a set of tragedies and horrors.
“That’s the nature of this great beast. I was very clear when I left the Met that the various things that were going on would pass, and they have.”
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
Hence then, the article about former met police commissioner ian blair dies aged 72 was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Former Met Police commissioner Ian Blair dies aged 72 )
Also on site :
- Kristen Stewart Tapped to Play '80s Feminist Icon
- Iranian football players celebrated in Tehran
- Russian oil supplies to India surge – media