Ken Jones, Chief Constable and ACPO President said:

“Over the last couple of days, the developments which led to the resignation of Sir Ian Blair as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service have dominated media debate. There is no doubt that the perception, if not the reality, of policing independence is fundamentally altered as a result of the last 48 hours.

“On the Today programme, following consultation with senior colleagues, I set out the dangers we see in allowing drift away from the fine balance of interests between the tripartite players. In our country the duty to preserve the impartiality of policing rests squarely with us all; government, police authorities and chief officers. Politics, policing and vested interests make for a toxic mix.

“The new Lord Chief Justice Igor Judge spoke powerfully at the annual chief police officers’ dinner earlier this year of our history as a nation and the duty of judges and police officers to keep the “Queen’s peace” free from undue influence. Each police force, each police authority, each judge and our press are independent of each other, and perhaps most importantly of all, independent from unwarranted political pressure. All these independencies, by their very existence, support each other by acting as constitutional checks and balances.

“In recent years the balance has shifted. We remain concerned about the unintended consequences of adjustments to terms and conditions which position chief officers more as employees and less as office holders.

“The consultation on the government’s green paper on policing provides an important opportunity to have this debate.”