Cressida Dick exit is ‘small justice’ for Stephen Port victims, loved ones say
Former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick with Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. (Victoria Jones – Pool/Getty Images)
Loved ones of the victims of Grindr serial killer Stephen Port have said it’s “about time” that Cressida Dick quit.
Cressida Dick was forced to step down as Met Police commissioner on Thursday (10 February) after losing the confidence of London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, over reports of bullying, misogyny, homophobia and racism riddling the force.
It was far from the first time the Met had been condemned – just months ago, inquests found that police failings “probably” contributed to the deaths of gay men killed by serial killer Stephen Port in 2014 and 2015.
Dick was deputy commissioner until the end of 2014, when she quit the force. She returned as commissioner in April 2017.
Sarah Sak, mother of one of the victims, Anthony Walgate, told The Guardian that during a recent meeting, she told Dick her belief that the officers handling her son’s case were “homophobic”.
She says Dick refused to listen.
Stephen Port’s victims (clockwise from top left) Anthony Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor. (Justice for our Murdered Boys)
“And she gave me this big long spiel about how diverse the Met is, how many gay officers, etc, etc,” Sak said. “She just didn’t believe there was any homophobia. I felt she just paid lip service to me.”
Of Dick’s exit from the force, Sak said: “I’m really pleased.
“Week in, week out, the Met is in the news. It’s about time somebody came and took control.”
Rick Waumsley, the boyfriend of victim Daniel Whitworth, said that it was “about time” Cressida Dick quit.
“She had clung on to that position so tight when, all around her, the officers she was in charge of have been racist, homophobic and sexist,” he told the Radio 4’s Today programme.
“When I was let down by the Met police because of their blatant homophobia towards the four victims that Stephen Port killed, and the inquest concluded that the Met failures ‘probably’ contributed to their deaths, I held Cressida accountable for these failures and made a statement that she should ‘resign with immediate effect’.
“So I am glad. This will be a small justice for the four victims and I hope more resignations within the Met police will come.”
Cressida Dick resigned after Khan put her “on notice” following a report detailing officers joking about rape, dressing up as “molested children” and calling Somalian people “rats”.
