Met chief commissioner Mark Rowley, with the support of the chief constables of three of the other largest police forces in England and Wales, told the Home Office that the present system was a “legalistic, bureaucratic and expensive minefield” that forced police officers who were unfit to serve. Rowley added that the independent lawyers of the Legally Qualified Chairs (LQC) who oversaw police disciplinary cases were “fundamentally soft”.
In response, barrister John Bassett, president of the LQC, said Rowley had impugned the body’s reputation and “undermined the independence of the process”.
