A FORMER Lancashire police chief has been tipped to take over if Sir Ian Blair is forced to resign over the shooting of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.
Paul Stephenson, who headed the Lancashire Police force for three years, is tipped by book-makers as a potential front-runmner to replace the current Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair.
Pressure has been mounting on Sir Ian Blair to resign over the shooting of Mr Menezes after the Met police was found guilty of breaking health and safety laws when officers pursued Mr Menezes to a Tube station and shot him seven times, mistaking him for a terror suspect in 2005.
Mr Stephenson, who left in February 2005 to take the position of deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan police in London, Sir Ian's number two, oversaw the Burnley riots of 2001 and the Morecambe Bay cockler deaths, as well as combatting terrorism in Northern Ireland earlier in his career.
Mr Stephenson was replaced by the incumbent police chief Steve Finnigan, who took over this year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article