No 10 had restarted the selection process earlier this year after a panel of experts failed to select Lord Hogan-Howe, who became a staunch supporter of Boris Johnson after he left the Met in 2017. The job was re-advertised and several sources said Hogan-Howe decided not to reapply. Interviews began this week for the retrial to select a director-general for the NCA, one of Britain’s most important crime-fighting agencies. Candidates include Scotland’s chief constable and Britain’s chief constable. The saga will raise concerns about the behavior of Downing Street. Although he has no official role in filling the £223,000-a-year NCA post, Whitehall sources have confirmed he intervened in the initial process. A panel then ruled that Graeme Biggar, the deputy head of the NCA, and Neil Basu, the former head of counter-terrorism, were “designates” but Hogan-Howe was not, a finding that surprised many in policing. Downing Street’s intervention came too late in the original process. Biggar and Basu had held talks with home minister Priti Patel, who is officially making the selection. Basu was so incensed by the corruption of the process that he decided not to apply again. If elected he would be the first person from a minority ethnic background to hold one of the top positions in law enforcement The collapse has strong echoes of the Johnson regime’s hard-fought bid to install Paul Dacre as chairman of media regulator Ofcom. The former Daily Mail editor applied, was not selected by a panel of experts, the process was canceled and restarted and Dacre decided to leave. Hogan-Howe was Met commissioner from 2011 to 2017 and is credited with quelling a civil war between senior officers in Britain’s biggest force and by people as an effective leader. But his nomination to lead the NCA sparked outrage among others because he was a commissioner when the Met fell victim to claims by a bogus impostor about an alleged pedophile ring. This led to the Met raiding the homes of former Home Secretary Leon Brittan and military hero Lord Bramall. Hogan-Howe has apologized to victims of the Operation Midland investigation into alleged pedophile rings after an independent review ordered it to reveal serious failings. Downing Street’s intervention extended the time the NCA has been without a permanent leader. It was in September last year that Lynne Owens stepped down as managing director. The re-advertisement of the NCA job resulted in new applicants applying, several of whom were screened without coming to a committee. Among those still in the running to be interviewed is Iain Livingstone, the chief constable of Police Scotland, the UK’s second largest force. For some it is now the first. Shaun Sawyer, the veteran chief constable of Devon and Cornwall Police, will also be interviewed. He failed to get an interview when he applied to be a Met commissioner, but made it to the final two to become a chief inspector of police. Also at the interview stage is Martin Hewitt, the chairman of the National Council of Police Chiefs, a role he is leaving next March. Biggar remains in the running and also moves on to the interview stage. Johnson met Hogan Howe while the former was mayor of London. In 2019 Hogan-Howe endorsed Johnson’s candidacy for Conservative leader. He described Johnson as “incredibly” efficient and said: “I found him to be loyal, honest and did what he promised to do.” The top post at the EAA is a senior civil service role equivalent to that of a permanent secretary. The NCA leads the fight against serious and organized crime. The Home Office declined to discuss the selection process. A spokesman said: “A fair and open recruitment campaign is underway to make the best possible appointment to this vital role. Recent events have shown how central the NCA is to protecting the public from organized crime and threats to national security.”
