Met chief Sir Paul Stephenson plans early return after tumour surgery

Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson is to return to work a month earlier than planned after undergoing surgery for a tumour.

Sir Paul, 57, has been off since before Christmas and was due to return to Scotland Yard next month.

However, he is understood to be keen to get back to his post this month - allowing him to be back in charge in time for the royal wedding.

Sir Paul has recently been going into work for a day each week and is in regular contact with senior colleagues, as doctors said it was too early to return full time. He suffered a broken leg after undergoing difficult surgery to remove a non-cancerous growth from his femur in December.

His recovery is said to have been painful and friends say he has effectively had to learn to walk again.

Senior police leaders say his return will be welcomed as the Met is facing a series of major challenges, notably fears that anarchists will try to disrupt the royal wedding celebrations in London on April 29. The force faced some criticism at the weekend over its handling of the unrest that saw extremists and thugs rampage through central London, causing millions of pounds of damage, during the TUC march.

There is also concern about community tensions as a result of the death of reggae star

Smiley Culture, who apparently stabbed himself to death during a police raid at his home in Warlingham last month.

In the past weeks the force has also had to issue two high-profile apologies for failures in two major inquiries.

Yesterday the Acting Commissioner Tim Godwin made a public apology to the family of Daniel Morgan after the collapse of a £40 million inquiry into his 1987 murder in Sydenham involving corrupt police officers.

There have been rumours of tensions between some assistant commissioners in Sir Paul's absence and some senior insiders say the force is missing his strong leadership.