This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/7757932.stm

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Sir Paul takes over as Met chief Orde and Spence in Met chief race
(about 11 hours later)
Sir Paul Stephenson has taken temporary charge of the Metropolitan Police. Sir Hugh Orde has confirmed that he has applied to be the next head of the Metropolitan Police (Met).
It follows the exit of Sir Ian Blair, who resigned citing a lack of support from London mayor Boris Johnson. The current head of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said he wants to be be the next commissioner.
Sir Paul, 55, has been seen as the front-runner in the race for the permanent job as commissioner, with an appointment expected in the spring. Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Julie Spence, 53, confirmed that she also met the Monday deadline for applications.
One of his most pressing tasks will be to deal with the fallout from last week's arrest of Conservative MP Damian Green, which has outraged many MPs. The post has become vacant after the resignation of Sir Ian Blair who said he stood down due to political interference from the Mayor of London.
Sir Paul has already faced tough questions from Mr Johnson over the shadow immigration minister's arrest. Sir Paul Stephenson has taken temporary charge of the force while the vetting process, expected to take several months, is underway.
The acting commissioner will also be keen to draw a line under race claims made by former senior colleague Tarique Ghaffur and an investigation into Sir Ian over multi-million pound contracts. If successful, Mrs Spence, who has run the Cambridgeshire force for three years, would become the first woman to head Britain's biggest police force.
'Political interference' Sir Paul Stephenson is in temporary chargeMrs Spence made national headlines a year ago after saying her force needed more staff and cash to cope with pressures caused by a sudden influx of migrant workers to the region.
Reducing teenage murders and combating the terror threat are some of the other challenges facing Sir Paul. Sir Hugh began his career in policing with the Met, joining in 1977, and rose to the rank of deputy assistant commissioner.
He steps into the role after Sir Ian's resignation in October. In 2002 he was made chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) - one of the most politically-charged jobs in the UK.
Sir Ian said he had stood down because of "political interference" from Mr Johnson. It was his task to oversee the massive scale of reforms to the former Royal Ulster Constabulary in an effort to win Catholic and nationalist support - a critical plank of Northern Ireland's peace process.
Before taking up the role, he was responsible for running the day-to-day operations of a hugely controversial probe into allegations of collusion between loyalist paramilitaries and security forces.
'Piffle and tripe'
Sir Hugh's experience at the Met includes managing major crimes and working closely on the fallout of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry.
He was awarded an OBE in 2001 and knighted in 2005.
Reducing teenage murders and combating the terror threat are among the challenges facing the new commissioner.
Sir Ian resigned in October saying he had stood down because of "political interference" from London Mayor Boris Johnson.
The Conservative mayor dismissed the claim as "balderdash, piffle and tripe".The Conservative mayor dismissed the claim as "balderdash, piffle and tripe".
Speaking in his final interview, Sir Ian warned that the law must be changed to prevent another commissioner being forced out by the mayor. Speaking in his final interview as Met chief on Friday, Sir Ian warned that the law must be changed to prevent another commissioner being forced out by the mayor.
He said he had spoken to "two or three" senior officers who he expected to apply for the post and told them that they had to be "resolute" in how they approached the role because of what had happened to him.
Job rivals
Sir Paul, who received a knighthood in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in June, was brought up in the Lancashire town of Bacup.
He rose through the ranks, going on to work in Northern Ireland, Merseyside and Lancashire.
Sir Paul has served in various areas of policing, from countering corruption to gun crime and terrorism, and his latest permanent role of deputy commissioner included overseeing strategy, modernisation and performance of the force.
Before the arrest of Mr Green, Sir Paul had been seen by many commentators as the most likely officer to land the commissioner's job on a permanent basis.
Northern Ireland Police chief Sir Hugh Orde, Merseyside head Bernard Hogan-Howe, West Midlands boss Sir Paul Scott-Lee and Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Julie Spence are also thought to be in the running to become Sir Ian's permanent successor.