Exclusive
Keir Starmer says Met 'needs to be turned inside out' in the wake of serial rapist David Carrick
19 January 2023, 14:03 | Updated: 19 January 2023, 14:28
Keir Starmer has said change within the Metropolitan Police needs to leave "no stone unturned", adding that the force needs to be "turned inside out".
The Leader of the Labour Party stressed that 'cultural change was the hardest to implement', speaking to The News Agents podcast from Davos, Switzerland.
Referencing his time as human rights adviser to the Northern Ireland Policing Board and the Association of Chief Police Officers, Mr Starmer was asked whether changing the Met's name from 'force' to 'service' could be beneficial.
He said: "It was [very] important that it was called the police service of Northern Ireland because it changed the way in which the force was looking.
"It was a service to the public, not a police force."
After being asked whether the Met should change its name in the same way, Mr Starmer said this could help, but added that more radical reform is needed.
He continued: "It's root and branch, no stone unturned...and turn it inside out. Cultural change is the hardest - you can change the rules, you can change the people, but cultural change is very, very difficult.
"Strong leadership is needed."
Mr Starmer's comments come after the shocking case of PC David Carrick, who this week admitted to 49 separate offences against 12 women while serving as an officer within the Met.
Listen to the News Agents podcast on Global Player https://www.globalplayer.com/podcasts/42KuVj/
Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has apologised for the force's failure to stop serial rapist David Carrick in his tracks, saying "he should not have been a police officer".
He said: "This man abused women in the most disgusting manner. It is sickening. We've let women and girls down and indeed we've let Londoners down.
"The women who suffered and survived this violence have been unimaginably brave and courageous in coming forward."
He continued: "We have failed. And I'm sorry. He should not have been a police officer. We haven't applied the same sense of ruthlessness to guarding our own integrity that we routinely apply to confronting criminals.
"I apologise to all of David Carrick's victims. And I also want to say sorry to all of the women across London who feel we've let them down."
Read More: 'Girls like you, I kill': Alex Scott reveals chilling kidnap threat from Moscow taxi driver
In the same interview with The News Agents, Mr Starmer was asked whether he would encourage his own daughter to approach a male police officer if she was in trouble.
He said: "Yes I would - and I think it's really important that we say that.
"I understand the concerns that some people might have about that, but yes I would."
Serving Met Policer officer David Carrick, who admitted 49 sex offences on Monday, carried out a number of sickening sexual acts, from locking naked women in a cupboard under his stairs to branding them his "slaves".
PC David Carrick admitted 24 counts of rape against women between 2003 and 2020 in court today. The sick officer had already pleaded guilty to 43 charges, including 20 counts of rape, in December.
Carrick, 48, who was branded "B*****d Dave by colleagues, used popular dating apps such as Tinder to meet his victims.
He then used his position to lure women and then bully them into keeping quiet about his attacks over an 18-year period, police and prosecutors said.
Carrick would flash his warrant card to convince women they could trust him and told them: "I’m a police officer, you can trust me”.
He even boasted about meeting former prime minister Boris Johnson, and would at first appear charming to lure his victims into a false sense of security.
