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Priti Patel is set to unveil a major 'hire and fire' shake-up of how police chiefs are chosen in the wake of the Sarah Everard tragedy.
The Home Secretary plans a 'blueprint for succession' for Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick and chief constables across England.
She will take action to end what allies condemn as the 'Buggins' turn' system of how chief constables are taken on – one in which appointments seem to be made in rotation rather than by merit.
The shake-up emerged amid reports that Ms Patel only agreed to extend Dame Cressida's term of office last month because there was no one suitable to replace her.
But her plans also follow claims of friction between the Home Secretary and the Met Commissioner, who has faced calls to quit in the wake of the brutal killing of Ms Everard by serving Met police officer Wayne Couzens in March.
Home Secretary Priti Patel is planning a 'blueprint for succession' for Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (pictured together) and chief constables across England.
The Mail on Sunday understands that between Ms Everard's disappearance and Couzens's arrest, the Home Secretary privately asked Dame Cressida and her team if a police officer could be involved but was not told whether her suspicions were correct.
A source close to Ms Patel said the prospect of a policeman being responsible felt likely because Covid restrictions
