Paul Stephenson (police officer)
Encyclopedia
Sir Paul Robert Stephenson, QPM
(born 26 September 1953) was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
, 2009-2011, the most senior police officer within the United Kingdom.
On 17 July 2011, Stephenson announced his intention to resign from the post of Commissioner as the result of speculation regarding his connection with Neil Wallis
, arrested on suspicion of involvement in the News International phone hacking scandal. Tim Godwin was the Acting Commissioner until a replacement was announced. Following a selection process, under the stewardship of the Home Secretary, Mayor of London and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Bernard Hogan-Howe
was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on 12th September 2011..
in the Rossendale
district of east Lancashire
, the son of a butcher. He attended Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
where he became head boy
.
Stephenson originally desired a career in the footwear industry, and took up work at the Bacup Shoe Company
factory in nearby Stacksteads
. By the age of 20 he was made a trainee manager, but in 1975 he followed his elder brother into the police force.
He now shares a home in Lancashire with his wife Lynda and their three children.
near Hook in Hampshire
when a sergeant on the Special Course at the same time as Sir Hugh Orde
. He became an inspector in Burnley
and a chief inspector
in Colne
. He became a superintendent
at the age of 34 in February 1988 when in Accrington
as sub-divisional commander, and moved to Ulster in the (former) RUC
in the early 1990s as a sub-divisional commander. He returned to Lancashire in 1994 as a sub-divisional commander in Preston. He has also served as assistant chief constable
in Merseyside Police
starting in 1994 and deputy chief constable
in Lancashire
from May 1999 under Chief Constable Pauline Clare. Stephenson was appointed as chief constable
of Lancashire Constabulary
in July 2002 and promoted to deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
in February 2005.
In September 2008 it was announced he would become acting commissioner
of the Met from 1 December, following the resignation of Sir Ian Blair
. In January 2009 it was announced that he had been appointed as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.
Stephenson was nicknamed "Rusty" by colleagues, referring to his "near-permanent tan".
, a former executive editor of the News of the World
had acted as a media consultant to the MPS in 2009 and 2010, and also that in early 2011 Stephenson received £12,000 of free hospitality from a Champneys
health spa, where Wallis was working at the time. On 14 July 2011, Wallis was arrested by the Metropolitan Police investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal.
On 17 July, in a lengthy statement in which he defended his actions, Stephenson announced his intention to resign as commissioner, saying that questions surrounding his integrity would otherwise become detrimental to the Met as a whole. The Deputy Commissioner, Tim Godwin
, will become Acting Commissioner in the interim between Sir Paul's resignation and the appointment of his successor, who will be announced following a lengthy process to find the right candidate for the senior post overseen by the Home Secretary
, Mayor of London
and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority
. His five-year term in the £253,000-a-year post was not due to end until at least January 2014.
This is an excerpt from Stephenson's statement.
Stephenson was awarded the Queen's Police Medal
for services to policing in May 2000, followed in 2007 by an Honorary Fellowship
from the University of Central Lancashire
in Preston. He was knighted
in the Queen's 2008 Birthday Honours
.
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
(born 26 September 1953) was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
, 2009-2011, the most senior police officer within the United Kingdom.
On 17 July 2011, Stephenson announced his intention to resign from the post of Commissioner as the result of speculation regarding his connection with Neil Wallis
Neil Wallis
Neil John Wallis is a former newspaper editor in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Wallis was born in Lincolnshire. He attended Skegness Grammar School.-Journalism:...
, arrested on suspicion of involvement in the News International phone hacking scandal. Tim Godwin was the Acting Commissioner until a replacement was announced. Following a selection process, under the stewardship of the Home Secretary, Mayor of London and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority, Bernard Hogan-Howe
Bernard Hogan-Howe
Bernard Hogan-Howe, QPM is the present Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis . He was previously Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, an Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and more recently one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Constabulary.On 18 July 2011, the Home Secretary...
was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen on 12th September 2011..
Biography
Stephenson grew up in BacupBacup
Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
in the Rossendale
Rossendale
Rossendale is a local government district with borough status. It is made up of a number of small former mill towns in Lancashire, England centered around the valley of the River Irwell in the industrial North West...
district of east Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, the son of a butcher. He attended Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School is a selective co-educational foundation school in Waterfoot, Rossendale, Lancashire, England. The school is named after the two main towns either side of Waterfoot, Bacup and Rawtenstall.-History:...
where he became head boy
Head boy
Head Boy and Head Girl are terms commonly used in the British education system, and in private schools throughout the Commonwealth.-United Kingdom:...
.
Stephenson originally desired a career in the footwear industry, and took up work at the Bacup Shoe Company
Bacup Shoe Company
The Bacup Shoe Company is a footwear company based in the village of Stacksteads, near Bacup, Lancashire, England. The Bacup Shoe Co. was founded and incorporated in 1928 by Ernst Goodwin. The Bacup Shoe company was one of the last well known footwear manufacturers to stop manufacturing in the late...
factory in nearby Stacksteads
Stacksteads
Stacksteads is a village between the towns Bacup and Waterfoot in Rossendale, Lancashire, England. Stacksteads includes a quarry called Lee Quarry which has also been transformed into a mountain bike trail.-History:...
. By the age of 20 he was made a trainee manager, but in 1975 he followed his elder brother into the police force.
He now shares a home in Lancashire with his wife Lynda and their three children.
Career
He joined the police service in 1975, aged 21. In 1982 Stephenson attended the Bramshill police training collegePolice Staff College, Bramshill
The Police Staff College, Bramshill, Bramshill House, Bramshill, Hook, Hampshire, England, is the principal police staff training establishment in the United Kingdom....
near Hook in Hampshire
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
when a sergeant on the Special Course at the same time as Sir Hugh Orde
Hugh Orde
Sir Hugh Stephen Roden Orde, OBE, QPM is the current President of the Association of Chief Police Officers, representing the 44 police forces of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Between 2002-2009 he was the Chief Constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland .Sir Hugh joined London's...
. He became an inspector in Burnley
Burnley
Burnley is a market town in the Burnley borough of Lancashire, England, with a population of around 73,500. It lies north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Brun....
and a chief inspector
Chief inspector
Chief inspector is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police .-Australia:...
in Colne
Colne
Colne is the second largest town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England, with a population of 20,118. It lies at the eastern end of the M65, 6 miles north-east of Burnley, with Nelson immediately adjacent, in the Aire Gap with two main roads leading into the Yorkshire...
. He became a superintendent
Superintendent (police)
Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
at the age of 34 in February 1988 when in Accrington
Accrington
Accrington is a town in Lancashire, within the borough of Hyndburn. It lies about east of Blackburn, west of Burnley, north of Manchester city centre and is situated on the mostly culverted River Hyndburn...
as sub-divisional commander, and moved to Ulster in the (former) RUC
Royal Ulster Constabulary
The Royal Ulster Constabulary was the name of the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2000. Following the awarding of the George Cross in 2000, it was subsequently known as the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC. It was founded on 1 June 1922 out of the Royal Irish Constabulary...
in the early 1990s as a sub-divisional commander. He returned to Lancashire in 1994 as a sub-divisional commander in Preston. He has also served as assistant chief constable
Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...
in Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police
Merseyside Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing Merseyside in North West England. The force area is 647 square kilometres with a population of around 1.5 million...
starting in 1994 and deputy chief constable
Deputy Chief Constable
Deputy chief constable is the second highest rank in all territorial police forces in the United Kingdom , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear...
in Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
from May 1999 under Chief Constable Pauline Clare. Stephenson was appointed as chief constable
Chief Constable
Chief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
of Lancashire Constabulary
Lancashire Constabulary
Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in the North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston...
in July 2002 and promoted to deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police
Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, commonly referred to simply as the Deputy Commissioner, is the second-in-command of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The rank is senior to Assistant Commissioner, but junior by one rank to Commissioner...
in February 2005.
In September 2008 it was announced he would become acting commissioner
Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis
The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
of the Met from 1 December, following the resignation of Sir Ian Blair
Ian Blair
Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, QPM is a retired British Police officer who held the position of commissioner of police of the metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.On 2 October 2008 Blair announced that he would...
. In January 2009 it was announced that he had been appointed as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.
Stephenson was nicknamed "Rusty" by colleagues, referring to his "near-permanent tan".
Resignation
In July 2011, Stephenson's judgement was questioned after it emerged that Neil WallisNeil Wallis
Neil John Wallis is a former newspaper editor in the United Kingdom.-Early life:Wallis was born in Lincolnshire. He attended Skegness Grammar School.-Journalism:...
, a former executive editor of the News of the World
News of the World
The News of the World was a national red top newspaper published in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, and at closure still had one of the highest English language circulations...
had acted as a media consultant to the MPS in 2009 and 2010, and also that in early 2011 Stephenson received £12,000 of free hospitality from a Champneys
Champneys
Champneys is the brand name of a destination spa group in the United Kingdom. Champneys Health Resorts Group own four spa resorts and has become one of the largest destination spa operators in the world...
health spa, where Wallis was working at the time. On 14 July 2011, Wallis was arrested by the Metropolitan Police investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal.
On 17 July, in a lengthy statement in which he defended his actions, Stephenson announced his intention to resign as commissioner, saying that questions surrounding his integrity would otherwise become detrimental to the Met as a whole. The Deputy Commissioner, Tim Godwin
Tim Godwin
Timothy John "Tim" Godwin, OBE, QPM is a senior British police officer, currently the Deputy Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police Service...
, will become Acting Commissioner in the interim between Sir Paul's resignation and the appointment of his successor, who will be announced following a lengthy process to find the right candidate for the senior post overseen by the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
, Mayor of London
Mayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
and the Chair of the Metropolitan Police Authority
Metropolitan Police Authority
The Metropolitan Police Authority is the police authority responsible for supervising the Metropolitan Police Service, the police force for Greater London ....
. His five-year term in the £253,000-a-year post was not due to end until at least January 2014.
This is an excerpt from Stephenson's statement.
Titles, styles, ranks & honours
- PC Paul Stephenson (1975-various ranks-1988)
- Supt. Paul Stephenson (1988–1991)
- Asst. Ch. Const.Assistant Chief ConstableAssistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...
Paul Stephenson (1994–1999) - Dep. Ch. Const.Deputy Chief ConstableDeputy chief constable is the second highest rank in all territorial police forces in the United Kingdom , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear...
Paul Stephenson (1999–2000) - Dep. Ch. Const.Deputy Chief ConstableDeputy chief constable is the second highest rank in all territorial police forces in the United Kingdom , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Civil Nuclear...
Paul Stephenson QPM (2000–2002) - Chief ConstableChief ConstableChief constable is the rank used by the chief police officer of every territorial police force in the United Kingdom except for the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police, as well as the chief officers of the three 'special' national police forces, the British Transport Police, Ministry...
Paul Stephenson QPM (2002–2005) - Dep. Comm.Deputy Commissioner of Police of the MetropolisThe Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, commonly referred to simply as the Deputy Commissioner, is the second-in-command of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The rank is senior to Assistant Commissioner, but junior by one rank to Commissioner...
Paul Stephenson QPM (2005–2008) - Dep. Comm.Deputy Commissioner of Police of the MetropolisThe Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, commonly referred to simply as the Deputy Commissioner, is the second-in-command of London's Metropolitan Police Service. The rank is senior to Assistant Commissioner, but junior by one rank to Commissioner...
Sir Paul Stephenson QPM (2008) - Acting CommissionerCommissioner of Police of the MetropolisThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
Sir Paul Stephenson QPM (2008–2009) - CommissionerCommissioner of Police of the MetropolisThe Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service, classing the holder as a chief police officer...
Sir Paul Stephenson QPM (2009–2011)
Stephenson was awarded the Queen's Police Medal
Queen's Police Medal
The Queen's Police Medal is awarded to police officers in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for gallantry or distinguished service. Recipients may use the post-nominal letters "QPM", although the right to use these was only granted officially on 20 July 1969...
for services to policing in May 2000, followed in 2007 by an Honorary Fellowship
Honorary title (academic)
Honorary titles in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties...
from the University of Central Lancashire
University of Central Lancashire
The University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
in Preston. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
in the Queen's 2008 Birthday Honours
Birthday Honours 2008
The Birthday Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth Realms were announced in June 2008, to celebrate the Queen's Birthday of 2008.The recipients of honours are displayed or referred to here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged firstly by the country whose ministers advised the Queen...
.