Trouble at the Yard

All the attention in the UK has been on the appearance of Rupert and James Murdoch at the House of Commons Select Committee in the British Parliament.

But this story has many dimensions.  It has not been a good week for the Metropolitan Police.

The highly respected Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, has resigned over the fact that the Police had been employing as a consultant a former News of the World employee who has now been arrested in the phone hacking investigation.  Then Assistant Commissioner John Yates, one of London's most experienced and senior officers also resigned, principally over how the investigation into phone hacking by journalists has been handled.  He has led many important and successful investigations, including the successful prosecution of six serving police officers for corruption.  There have been many major criminal enquiries in the past where wrong strategic decisions were taken that did not result in senior resignations.

These resignations, whilst suiting the mood of the media in a story that has now become a daily frenzy, are not good news for London.  The police are preparing for one of their biggest security challenges - the Olympics in 2012 - and continuity of leadership by good officers is required.

Sir Paul also faced questions over his stay with his wife at a luxury health spa when he was recuperating from cancer surgery.  The spa shares a connection with the former News of the World employee who is a consultant to the police and to the spa.  The Commissioner says he he did not know of this link (he was a family friend of the owner of the spa) and in any case he publicly declared that he had received the hospitality.

The core element of every reputation is trust.  Police Officers remain amongst the most trusted of any occupation in Britain.  Retaining that trust is vital if the police are to do their job properly.

A vox pop on BBC News this evening indicated that ordinary people feel that those in authority are not held to account when things go wrong.

But whether the resignations of the Commissioner and Mr Yates were necessary to maintain trust in the police in the long term is questionable.

They have lost their posts and the public have lost their expertise and leadership at a critical time for the capital.

In a crisis, where mistakes have been made, the resignation of a senior official sometimes helps the public and stakeholders see that responsibility is being taken and public concern understood.

Resignations for expediency should never be part of crisis planning.

Now Dick Fedorcio, the long serving and respected Director of Public Affairs at the Metropolitan Police has been criticised by a Parliamentary committee for his role in the engaging of the News of the World employee as a consultant.   Dick is an honest and dedicated public servant.

If you are not in the UK and are struggling to keep up with the phone hacking story, please do not worry.  People in the UK are losing track of it too.  And there's a long way to go.