Monday 8 August 2022 05:10 PM Three more bosses follow Cressida Dick out of Scotland Yard trends now

Three of the most senior officers in the Met have announced they are stepping down just weeks before a new commissioner is set to take over with the aim of turning around its shattered reputation. 

Sir Stephen House, who had temporarily taken charge as commissioner in April, will quit when Sir Mark Rowley begins his tenure on September 12.

Deputy Commissioner Helen Ball also announced she will retire from policing after 35 years on October 31, while Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave is to move elsewhere in the coming weeks.

All three officers were either appointed or promoted by Dame Cressida and were seen as her key lieutenants. 

Today, Sir Mark said he was grateful 'to be given the opportunity to build a fresh leadership team'.  

The incoming police chief faces an uphill battle to repair the Met's reputation after numerous scandals over misogyny, racism and incompetence led to the force being placed in special measures.  

It comes as applications to replace Mr Ephgrave in the £206,274-a-year job opened in an advert on the force's website.

Sir Stephen will lead a review of operational productivity in policing overseen by the National Police Chiefs' Council.

The Scottish police officer has worked in several different forces and was appointed chief constable of Police Scotland in 2012.

However, during his tenure leading the force he faced criticism for his use of armed patrols as well as stop and search.

He resigned in 2015 over the deaths of Lamara Bell and John Yuill, who lay undiscovered in a wrecked car for three days despite a call from a member of the public.

But in 2018, he became an assistant commissioner at the Metropolitan Police and was promoted to deputy commissioner by the end of the year.