Met chief 'doesn't accept' failure as poll reveals only half of Londoners trust the force

3 December 2021, 08:28 | Updated: 3 December 2021, 09:28

Dame Cressida Dick has told LBC she "doesn't accept" the Met police has failed, after an exclusive poll found 49% of Londoners don't trust her force.

The Met Police chief made the remarks during Call the Commissioner on Nick Ferrari at Breakfast, where she was presented with an LBC poll.

She said she "regrets" the loss of trust in the force following the murder of Sarah Everard, but doesn't accept that the force has failed.

An exclusive LBC poll revealed today that just over half (51%) say that they trust the Met and 23% of people polled actively distrust police.

A third of young women in London were also found to actively distrust the Metropolitan police.

Read more: Exclusive LBC poll: Only half of Londoners trust the Met

Nick asked Dame Cressida: "London does not seem to trust your colleagues, why?"

"Well certainly I would like those figures to be much higher obviously," she told Nick.

"But this is the first time I have heard those and a poll of 1,000 people.

"Rest-assured we survey regularly and I have to say I do absolutely understand that in particular, not exclusively, the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer has absolutely damaged people's trust in us. That's something I regret.

"It isn't the only event this year where people have looked at what a very small number of my colleagues have been doing, or alleged to have been doing, and have felt very very upset about that."

Watch again: Call the Commissioner

Nick pressed Dame Cressida on how she plans to restore that trust, adding it is a "shocking" figure.

"Our general figures, normally, are up in about the 70s, and they stayed up there for a considerable time. That is very much higher, sadly, than other public servants," she replied.

"But if it is the case that your poll is representative and it has dropped to that, then it is a challenge.

"The vast majority of my officers are good people, decent people."

She added that "trust has certainly been hit".

Dame Cressida Dick says she absolutely understands that the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer has damaged Scotland Yard.

But the commissioner told Nick she doesn't accept the Met's has failed.

Nick said: "It's fail, fail, fail, commissioner."

"I don't accept that," said Dame Cressida.

"I don't like those figures - I'm not questioning them - but I don't accept the words you used."

Read more: Killer cop to die behind bars: Sarah Everard's parents say the world is a 'safer place'

LBC's exclusive poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 people, found that trust levels for men are slightly higher, with over half (54%) of men in London saying they trust the Met and around a fifth (21%) saying they distrust the Met.

For men under 35, 56% said they trust the force and 19% said they distrust them.

LBC's poll also highlights that police are losing the confidence of young people in the capital.

This story is being updated