Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has condemned the “ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money” spent on paying officers who cannot be dismissed despite failing vetting checks. His remarks follow a High Court ruling on Tuesday, which found that the Met lacks the legal power to sack officers solely for losing their security clearance.
As a result, those officers will be placed on special leave with full pay, costing the force potentially millions of pounds.
Legal Ruling Creates ‘Hopeless Position’
Sir Mark confirmed that 29 officers and staff are currently on special vetting leave. Most of these cases involve “sexually bad attitudes” or concerns about violence against women and girls.
“They won’t be policing the streets, they won’t be attending your calls,” Sir Mark said, emphasizing that keeping unfit officers on full pay was deeply frustrating.
The High Court ruling came after Sgt Lino Di Maria successfully challenged the loss of his vetting status. Di Maria had been accused of sexual assault, but was never charged and was found to have no case to answer in a misconduct hearing.
Mrs Justice Lang ruled that removing an officer’s vetting without due process was unlawful. She stated that dismissal on these grounds must be explicitly provided for in regulations from the Home Office, which it currently is not.
Call for Urgent Reform
Sir Mark, who has led the Met for two and a half years, said the force had struggled to remove unfit officers for over two decades due to a lack of clear dismissal powers. He blamed Home Office officials for failing to update regulations.
“All three home secretaries during my tenure have shown commitment to resolving this, but civil servants have dragged their feet,” he said.
He urged the government to fast-track legal changes, insisting that a clear timeline for reform was needed within weeks.
Home Office Responds
A Home Office spokesperson said the government was “acting rapidly” to ensure police forces could dismiss officers who lose vetting clearance.
The ruling has reignited calls for stronger accountability measures in the wake of the Sarah Everard case, where an independent report highlighted failures in police vetting procedures.
With public confidence in policing already strained, the Met now faces increasing pressure to remove officers deemed unfit for duty, before taxpayers foot an even larger bill.
