Lord Blunkett calls for ‘ethical reset’ of police leadership
Lord Blunkett said policing in England and Wales was “not good enough” and needed an “ethical reset”.
Speaking exclusively to the BBC ahead of the publication of a major report he co-wrote into police leadership, the former Labor home secretary said his findings pointed to weaknesses in leadership, morale and culture across the force.
The report, to be published on Monday, will conclude there are “significant causes for concern” and that police leadership requires a “fundamental overhaul”.
“The service at the moment is not good enough,” Lord Blunkett said. “The morale and motivation of many of those currently working in the service need to be reset.”
The report, prepared on behalf of the College of Policing with former Conservative policing minister Lord Herbert, will recommend a “root and branch modernization” of recruitment, development and monitoring within the service.
In the face of declining public confidence in policing, the “comprehensive” review of police leadership has been commissioned to ensure the service can respond to evolving threats and meet government targets, the College of Policing has said.
None of the 43 police forces in England and Wales were rated “outstanding” for leadership in the latest round of scrutiny. Almost a third needed improvement and two were rated as inadequate.
Lord Blunkett told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg program on Sunday that evidence gathered during the review pointed to “a large number of people at a high level who are or are under investigation”.
“I think there are currently eight former or current police chiefs who are under disciplinary investigation or awaiting the outcome,” he said. “And that’s outside of the 43 forces.”
He added: “All this leads us to believe that a new ethical reset is necessary.”
The report will highlight challenges such as resource scarcity, excessive paperwork and the “demotivation” of civil servants due to negative and overly risk-averse leadership cultures.
Lord Blunkett was also asked whether there was a problem with the term “two-tier policing”, which some politicians use to argue that police can deal more positively with people from ethnic minorities than with white people.
In the House of Commons last month, UK Reform Leader Nigel Farage linked this to the police’s handling of the murder of Henry Nowak, a teenager arrested on his deathbed after his killer falsely accused him of racism.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer denied the allegations, saying he did not believe there was two-tier policing in the UK and accused Farage of exploiting the tragedy to sow grievance and division.
Lord Blunkett said: “I think there is a perception that we have moved the pendulum.
“Gone from him [1999] Macpherson published a report that looked at open racism in the force, particularly its repercussions in the Met, and people saying ‘ah, woke up’.
“We clearly state in the report that there is no room for culture wars or wokeism. It is not the job of the police to take sides in any way in our country. It is the duty of the police to carry out this.”
