By Stephen Moyes 16/09/2009
The head of the Met slapped down the Tories yesterday for claiming they control the police force and insisted: "I'm the captain of the bridge."
Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson told London Mayor Boris Johnson's team that "no sensible" politician would interfere in operations.
Johnson's head of policing Kit Malthouse claimed two weeks ago to have his "hand on the tiller" of the Met. But Sir Paul said: "Anybody who knows about sailing knows only small boats have tillers. If you have a supertanker you have a bridge and a captain. I'm the captain, I know where the bridge is."
He added: "The police service is not part of any government. It is our responsibility to set strategy." Mr Malthouse is thought to have annoyed senior officers with requests to be involved in operations. At the Superintendents' conference Sir Paul said he had good relations with Johnson but refused to include Mr Malthouse................... http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/16/met-chief-sir-paul -stephenson-slams-tory-police-boast-115875-21676993/
