And I have to say - I like her and think she's a good cop. Yet again, here we see simplistic thinking. It's police that are going wrong. Not one person; the entire system. That was why George Floyd died in Minneapolis. That was why Wayne Couzens got away with it for so long. That was why Deniz Corday, Rob Randall and Laurence Pollinger died. That was why Levi Belfield got away after murdering Millie Dowler to kill other girls. That was why Port was allowed to kill more boys. That was why three Deepcut soldiers died. It's POLICE and training and bosses and the system that are wrong. Not one person. Just watch police continue to decline, with or without Dick.

My main question is: why now? During all of those appalling errors of judgement, suddenly the mayor discovers he has the power to just tell her to go and she goes. Why now? Was all the other stuff fine???

Why? The answer is clear - media coverage. Who runs the country? The media. But the big problem is the same as every time - simplification. People cannot understand that the problem is leadership in police; training, discipline, correction, removal of crooks, the system. It was NOT Dick's fault and our ghastly Mayor just wanted to thumb his nose at the Tories. Take That Priti! Cosmetic changes will make no difference. It's a huge, global problem. When something grows, problems grow. The young NHS was far better than the current NHS. Old cops were far better than current cops. Size brings in bad apples and (worst of all) incompetents. Like everywhere, when your priority in bring in new officers is "make them female, Muslims, different skin colours, disabled" instead of any good, you'll get incompetents or criminals brought in and promoted. The more bent they are, the faster they rise.

I think Cressida should have said "Fuck off Khan. It's nothing to do with you. Go talk to Patel" and refuse to accept phone calls from the Mayor.

JK2006 wrote:
Why? The answer is clear - media coverage.

That's not really the answer, JK. There was MASSIVE media effort to get Dick sacked after the Carl Beech revelations. Then there was a second intense campaign, led by the Mail (which really went for it), when the Gambo call for her to go was launched. Then there was a third big call for her to go before she could be given a further period in charge. Huge front page demands, massive features inside, day after day. And she survived it.

So we can't just say it was the media. The media FAILED. The media demanded her head and she went on to be made a dame and get her position renewed! The media got its teeth kicked in. Indeed, her past few years in office have shown how impotent the media still can be when the Establishment doesn't fancy complying.

So that's why I find it curious. Why now?

The hypocrisy of the mayor is plain to see. If he found it that easy to get rid of her, just by suddenly saying 'I don't support you,' why on earth didn't he do it when half the nation seemed to be baying for her blood?

If anything, the media, having been embarrassed to see their big campaigns fail, had recently seemed miserably fatalistic about her continuing. So the media was not the major mover here.

Oh I think it was Rick. The Mail build up grew and grew - culminating in this latest Charing Cross revelation - the cherry on top of the media cake and one when, at last, many others joined in. Of course also political (dreadful Khan). But again it just ignores the real problem (corruption or incompetence throughout police and politics) by honing in on a specific individual. Like Black Lives Matter (yes - ALL lives matter and the stupid Yank cop would have equally happily killed a young white girl). MeToo (yes - lots of US TOO - abused in situations different from being female, young and attractive). The system (IOPC and PSDs happy to boot out men who tweak female bottoms whilst sweeping cops causing deaths under the carpet). Stephen Port (yes there is some homophobia but the problem is total incompetence). Until the media starts on the bigger picture, British police remain in a disastrous place.

The media said nothing at all about Cressida Dick breaking the rules she was also enforcing when she joined in the non distanced crowds to clap the NHS.

But it showed her character.

JK2006 wrote:
Oh I think it was Rick. The Mail build up grew and grew - culminating in this latest Charing Cross revelation - the cherry on top of the media cake and one when, at last, many others joined in. Of course also political (dreadful Khan). But again it just ignores the real problem (corruption or incompetence throughout police and politics) by honing in on a specific individual. Like Black Lives Matter (yes - ALL lives matter and the stupid Yank cop would have equally happily killed a young white girl). MeToo (yes - lots of US TOO - abused in situations different from being female, young and attractive). The system (IOPC and PSDs happy to boot out men who tweak female bottoms whilst sweeping cops causing deaths under the carpet). Stephen Port (yes there is some homophobia but the problem is total incompetence). Until the media starts on the bigger picture, British police remain in a disastrous place.

We'll have to agree to disagree. If you judge it causally both on instant impact when it works and cumulative impact when it doesn't seem to, then obviously you'll always be right. But come on - the last Mail campaign, they pulled out all the stops, and it failed. They pretty much gave up. The media presure clearly declined. And then she went.

Replacement - anyone but Nick Ephgrave.