The Chairman of the Sussex Police Federation has called on Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Craig Mackey to resign and be stripped of his knighthood and Queen’s Police Medal.
“The impact of [Sir Craig’s] actions on the rank-and-file police officers will do nothing to dispel the feeling that the bosses don’t care about the troops and don’t understand what they do,” Inspector Matt Webb wrote in The Telegraph.
Sir Craig was Acting Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police when radical Islamic terrorist Khalid Masood ran down pedestrians outside the Palace of Westminster before emerging from his vehicle to fatally assault unarmed PC Keith Palmer at the gates — and was actually present at the scene when the attack unfolded, having just been in a meeting with then-police minister Brandon Lewis.
He did not intervene, however, remaining in his car with the doors locked and watching as the unarmed British Army veteran was killed before being driven away, telling an inquest he had “no protective equipment, no radio, [and] two colleagues with me who [were] quite distressed”.
“[W]hether he had equipment or not, the right thing to do would have been to get out and at least try to help,” wrote Inspector Webb.
“Yelling at Masood might have split his attention, might have helped other officers intervene, might have given others a little more time to arrive on scene. Stepping up – rather than driving away – might have made a difference to PC Palmer, or for all Sir Craig knew, might have helped save other members of the public who could have found themselves in Masood’s path.
“And even if it did neither, it would still have been the right thing to do.”
The Police Federation leader, like many other serving and former police officers, compared Sir Craig’s actions unfavourably to those of PC Charlie Guenigault, the equally unarmed hero officer who was stabbed multiple times tackling the London Bridge terrorists while off-duty and wearing only his street clothes.
“The worrying truth is… Deputy Commissioner Mackey failed to live up to those values and to the oath of office he took at the start of his career,” Webb concluded.
“He failed to do all he could to protect others, including his fellow officer, he failed to do the right thing and failed to respect the office of Constable.
“He should consider his position: not retire in December but go now because he does not deserve to wear the same uniform as police officers across the country. He should be stripped of his Knighthood and Queen’s Police Medal.”
Police veterans have expressed similar sentiments, with former Metropolitan Police Detective Chief Inspector Mick Neville saying he was “appalled that any police officer, of whatever rank, would simply drive away after seeing a colleague brutally attacked”. Former Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent Philip Flower said that “Senior police officers do not lead from behind a desk, or hurry back to it, as he did, to take control.”
Many have accused him outright of “cowardice”, demanding an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) or even prosecution for neglect of duty.
Sir Craig is due to retire in December, whereafter he will enjoy a substantial index-linked pension — assuming no action is taken against him.
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