Police pay dispute 'a mistake'

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The home secretary has made a "mistake" in refusing to meet police pay demands, but should not resign, the Metropolitan Police commissioner has told the BBC.

Sir Ian Blair said he did not understand why the government had "picked a fight" over the issue, but officers would not strike.

He also restated his call to allow the longer detention of terror suspects.

"The number of conspiracies... and the magnitude of their ambition" made it vital, he said.

'Very disappointed'

The Police Federation has called for the resignation of Home Secretary Jacqui Smith over her refusal to backdate a 2.5% pay award.

The body also plans to ballot its members over the possibility of industrial action.

On Friday, it emerged that the chief constables of Essex and Cambridgeshire have refused to pass on Mrs Smith's Christmas message to their officers in protest at the pay wrangle.

In a wide-ranging interview on BBC Radio Four's Today programme, Sir Ian said he was "very disappointed" at the government's decision.

"I disassociate myself from requests for the home secretary to resign - I think she's a very good home secretary - but I think this is a mistake," he said.

Officers passed a vote of no confidence in Jacqui Smith

"I told her that, I told her predecessor that, and the reason it's a mistake is because not enough notice has been taken of the special nature of policing in the sense that police officers don't have the right to strike."

He said ministers must now negotiate with the Police Federation over other ways of improving pay structures.

For example, he said, "the only way to get a pay rise is to be promoted, whereas in teaching you can stay in a classroom and get paid more and more".

He added: "I don't understand why this particular fight has been picked.

"[But] I don't believe that my officers will go on strike. The professionalism of my officers and officers all over the UK is such that it will not happen."

'Crime falling'

Sir Ian said despite opposition he still felt it was "necessary" to extend the maximum detention period for terror suspects to 90 days from the current 28.

"It's the investigators who are asking for this extra detention, not the lawyers, because the lawyers get the product of the investigation," he said.

"It's the investigators who know how difficult this is.

"I believe it's necessary because the number of conspiracies, the number of conspirators and the magnitude of their ambition is rising all the time."

The New York miracle is actually now being mirrored here, but nobody is actually commenting Sir Ian BlairMet Police Commissioner

Sir Ian said that despite the growing threat of terrorism, crime in general in London was falling.

There were 157,000 fewer crimes this year than three years ago, 21,000 fewer victims of violent crime and a drop in knife crime of 16%, he said.

And he claimed London was experiencing a crime "miracle" similar to that in New York in the 1990s when the murder rate fell by 54.5%.

"The New York miracle is actually now being mirrored here, but nobody is actually commenting."

'Not thick skinned'

Sir Ian said that he "didn't at any stage consider resigning" over the shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

When it was suggested that a minister would have resigned in a similar position, he said: "That's because cabinet ministers can't stand the negative publicity.

"I can just, in the end, sit there."

He said he was "tough", "not thick skinned", but would always wonder "what could have been done differently".

"In terms of my commissionership, I think it is quite likely that it will be remembered as the major disaster that occurred on my watch," he said.