Lib-Dems: Boris Johnson role as police chief 'is a right dog's dinner'

David Cameron was today urged to axe plans to make Boris Johnson London's first elected police commissioner.

Liberal Democrats called for Londoners instead to be given a direct vote to choose a commissioner to give strategic direction to the Metropolitan Police.

They demanded the changes after it emerged that even though the Mayor would be the "de facto" elected commissioner, he may delegate the chairmanship of a new board overseeing the Met. Currently, deputy mayor Kit Malthouse chairs the Metropolitan Police Authority after Mr Johnson stood down from this post.

City Hall sources said that it was more likely that Mr Johnson would chair the new board but admitted he could ask a deputy to do the job.

Home Secretary Theresa May is understood to be relaxed over Mr Malthouse chairing it. The Mayor is also expected to appoint independent experts to the board. Met Commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, would remain in charge of operations.

But Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs raised objections to the proposed shake-up to make the Mayor the elected police commissioner. Carshalton and Wallington MP Tom Brake, the chairman of the Lib-Dem backbench home affairs committee, said: "That sounds like a right old dog's dinner."

He argued that the whole purpose of elected commissioners was to give people a choice to vote for an individual on their specific blueprint for policing — rather than on wider issues which are the responsibility of the Mayor such as housing and transport.

Gareth Thomas, Labour MP for Harrow West, added: "If he's (Mr Johnson) the elected police commissioner and he's not willing to chair the board, it makes a mockery of the concept. If you don't chair the actual meetings, you can't drive the policies."