James W Kelly
BBC News, London
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Lord Ian Blair led the Met from 2005 to 2008
The former Metropolitan Police commissioner, Lord Ian Blair, has died at the age of 72.
The crossbench peer and senior police officer led the UK’s largest force between 2005 and 2008, including during the 7/7 bombings in London.
Christ Church, Oxford, where Lord Blair studied English and later became an honorary student, confirmed his death on Friday.
Born in Chester in 1953, Lord Blair joined the Met in 1974 as part of its graduate entry scheme.
He rose through the ranks, serving in both uniform and CID, and went on to lead major investigations, including the response to the King’s Cross fire of 1987.
In 1998, he became chief constable of Surrey Police before returning to the Met two years later as deputy commissioner.
Lord Blair was appointed commissioner in February 2005, just months before a series of bombings killed 52 people on London’s transport network.
Sir Ian Blair appearing on the Andrew Marr Show in 2009
Two weeks later, firearms officers shot dead Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell Underground station, after mistaking him for a terror suspect.
The force was later found to have breached health and safety laws over the shooting.
Lord Blair was cleared of personal wrongdoing but faced sustained pressure over the incident for the remainder of his time in the role.
‘Proudest task’
He stepped down in 2008 after losing the support of London’s then newly elected mayor, Boris Johnson.
In his resignation letter, Lord Blair said: “It has been the proudest task of my life to lead the men and women of the Metropolitan Police.
“It is the duty of the commissioner to lead the Met through good times and bad: To accept the burdens and pressures of office and, above all, to be a steward of the service he commands.”
