Shelagh Fogarty reflects on being 'struck' by Cressida Dick's 'defensive' words
11 February 2022, 15:17 | Updated: 11 February 2022, 16:54
Shelagh Fogarty reflects on being 'struck' by Cressida Dick's 'defensive' statements
Shelagh Fogarty has spoken of being "struck" by "defensive in nature" words from Cressida Dick.
Her words have come after Dame Cressida Dick's resignation as the Metropolitan Police Commissioner on Thursday.
Dame Cressida said in a statement: "It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London today, it is clear that the Mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue.
"He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.
"At his request, I have agreed to stay on for a short period to ensure the stability of the Met and its leadership while arrangements are made for a transition to a new Commissioner.
"Undertaking this role as a servant of the people of London and the UK has been the greatest honour and privilege of my life."
Shelagh said: "Just some reflections of my own on the last year or so of Cressida Dick.
"I was always struck by how her absolute go-to position at the beginning of interviews or any statements that she gave were, I think, defensive in nature."
Daniel Morgan's brother speaks to Tom Swarbrick following Cressida Dick's resignation
Reflecting on the policing of the vigil for Sarah Everard, Shelagh said: "The idea that because of Covid restrictions at an outdoor event at that point it was acceptable to see the kind of policing of women by unformed officers that we saw, was just so clumsy.
"At best, it was clumsy. And clearly, in the case of some of the individuals it was worse than clumsy from their perspectives.
She added: "How was that a way to police a women-only event in light of the murder of a young woman by a serving police officer?"
Shelagh also said: "To then defend it, without even recognising how bad it must of looked to people viewing it let alone those experiencing it - that's the kind of, sort of failure to look outwards and communicate outwards that I think Cressida Dick was guilty of."
Shelagh went on to say that Cressida Dick is a "very articulate woman" but that she thinks "something about the culture of the Met, the problems it was facing, the failure to address many of those problems" has "just overwhelmed the leadership".
