Loyalty and discretion
- 28 Jan 09, 09:52 AM
So why has the man who presided over the debacle of Damian Green's arrest been promoted to the top job in the Met?
Why was Sir Paul Stephenson's appointment as Metropolitan Police Commissioner "a matter of almost glutinous cross-party consensus" according to Boris Johnson, who did not have the predicted bust up with the Home Secretary Jacqui Smith?
I hear that the politicians were rather impressed that Sir Paul publicly took the rap for what many people see as the cock-ups of his subordinates (in particular Assistant Commissioner Bob Quick who was in charge of the Home Office leaks inquiry that led to Mr Green's arrest), even at a time when it must have been tempting to dump them in it.
Loyalty, discretion and sticking to the agreed line - these qualities are perhaps not as undervalued as some had feared.
