Stewart Tendler and David Charter report in the The Times today of the Prime Minister Tony Blair’s support for the “beleaguered” Commissioner for the Metropolitan Police, Sir Ian Blair, following Conservative MPs tabling an early day motion calling for his resignation.

This support cannot be unexpected, given that Sir Ian is one of those now numerous sympathetic appointees favoured and nurtured by New Labour.  It is this perceived closeness which is the cause of so much unease, over and above the ill-advised pronouncements of the Commissioner that have so tarnished the his image during the past twelve months.

My particular attention was drawn to the reported remarks of Chief Superintendent Simon Humphries, who chairs the Superintendents’ Association branch of the Metropolitan Police.  Humphries purportedly commented that,

“…his members felt that Sir Ian had been treated harshly by the media and should not be hounded out of office…and the Commissioner had apologised for his mistake[1]and has the confidence of the people he leads and a large majority of the public [my emphasis]”

Leaving aside that many of the Commissioner’s colleagues might consider privately that he is a fool, as for the public, I should like to see the evidence[2] of such support, because I am not aware of it, quite the contrary, in fact.

[1] Which one?

[2] I just can’t help being a defence lawyer, can I?