We here at Boriswatch Towers have previously reported on the kerfuffle that emerged between Boris and Sir Ian Blair. With Blair’s resignation and soon-to-be departure from the role, however, we assumed that any bad blood between the two would fade away, to be replaced with a professional courtesy and sense of goodwill.
Oh, how wrong we were.
On his last day as Commissioner, Sir Ian has brought out the vitriol in an interview with the Telegraph, in which he seemingly accuses the Mayor of using his political clout for personal reasons in an attempt to oust him from office. Why? Merely because Blair has been a controversial figure and has been in the public eye, rather than for any actual wrongdoing.
Now, OK, we can kind of see his point: it’s very hard not to be a little bit controversial if you’re head of the Metropolitan Police. Still, have any of his predecessors had as much negative press attention as Sir Ian? Have any of them had so many press-described ‘blunders’? We can’t think of any, certainly, and while we’re not suggesting that Blair did a terrible job in office, there’s certainly reasons for him to have bumped heads with Boris that don’t include the political backbiting and Machiavellian machinations he seems to be implying.
There’s no word on whether or not Boris will be giving a response on this, but either way, there seem to be few people clamouring for Sir Ian to reconsider. Is his departure a good thing for London’s police? Was he as inept as the media often claimed? Should Boris have tried to put his reported personal difficulties aside to work with Blair, or is he better off with a new Commissioner who better matches his vision for London? Answers on a postcard, please. Or, better yet, in the comments.