Britain's senior police chief Paul Stephenson, London's police commissioner leaves New Scotland Yard after resigning in London July 17, 2011.
Key facts about Britain's top police chief Paul Stephenson, who resigned on Sunday after criticism of police handling of a phone-hacking scandal that has rocked British politics and shaken Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. global media empire.
- Forced to abandon his official duties in January this year after suffering complications following operations to remove a pre-cancerous growth from his leg. He returned to work in April, one month earlier than expected.
- Ordered a review of the News Corp. phone-hacking investigation in July of 2009 after extensive media coverage. But after just eight hours of consideration, the decision was taken by the officer he appointed, John Yates, that there was no new evidence that warranted the inquiry to be reopened.
- Came under fire on a number of occasions after becoming Metropolitan Police Commissioner. He was forced to apologize for his force's handling of the riots that broke out in London during the G20 summit in April of 2009 in which a newspaper vendor was killed after a clash with an officer.
- Media reported he apologized to the Royal Family and that he also tendered his resignation after a car belonging to Prince Charles was attacked by rioters during a demonstration against rising student fees in London in December last year.
- He became a police officer in 1975 when he joined Lancashire Police in northern England. Apart from a stint with the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland, he remained in the force until he became Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police in the city of Liverpool in October, 1994.
- Returned to Lancashire in May of 1999 when he was appointed Deputy Chief Constable before becoming Chief Constable in July, 2002. In March of 2005, he was appointed Deputy Commissioner of London's Metropolitan Police Service and took the top job in British policing in January of 2009 after the resignation of Commissioner Ian Blair, after he too was forced out after months of media pressure.
Source: Reuters News Agency