The under fire Met Commissioner came out swinging today, saying: “I have absolutely no intention of going”.
Defiant Dame Cressida Dick insisted she was leading “a real transformation” in the Metropolitan Police after a string of scandals.
She took part in an interview after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan hinted she could be ousted within days if she fails to tackle “shattered” confidence in Scotland Yard.
Dick told BBC London’s Eddie Nestor: “I have absolutely no intention of going and I believe that I am and, have been actually, for the last five years leading a real transformation in the Met.
“We have a service now which is, I’m absolutely certain, more professional, fairer, more transparent, more accountable and closer to its communities and more effective in, for example, reducing violent crime which has been going down year-on-year in almost every category bucking the national trends.
“So we have been performing and we have good people in the main.”
She conceded there had been “far too many instances” coming to light and the Met “must change”.
Dick said she was “seething angry” about racist and sexist comments made by officers, adding: “There is no place in the Met for sexism or racism or homophobia, for abuse trust or for bullying, and in the last few days I have gone out extremely strongly to my colleagues and told them enough is enough.
“This is a fantastic police service. It is hugely capable in so many ways, but its reputation has been tarnished by the awful things that you were hearing about there in relation to the impact team at Charing Cross and also, some other awful things have happened and come to light in the last several months.”
She added she was “absolutely determined” in “rooting out” similar officers and said any who held those views should “get out now”.
The commissioner has come under fierce criticism after a string of scandals – from the murder of Sarah Everard by a police officer, to the revelation that 14 officers at Charing Cross police station made jokes about rape, domestic violence, the Holocaust and killing black children.
Khan said he was “disgusted” that nine out of the 14 officers exposed by the police watchdog last week were still in post and two had been promoted.
He said the culprits should have been sacked and suggested Dick’s failure to tackle the problem had left her job hanging in the balance.
“What we have seen too often are examples of racism, misogyny, sexism, discrimination and the like,” Khan told BBC Radio 4′s Today programme on Wednesday.
“I have been quite clear to the commissioner: my expectation is the next time I see her I want to see what her response is to the examples not of one officer, of 14 officers being involved in racist, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, Islamophobic and the like behaviour, nine of whom are still serving.
“Secondly, what her plans are to win back the trust and confidence that’s been both been knocked and shattered as a consequence.”