A Lancashire man will take the reins of Britain’s largest police force tomorrow.
Former Lancashire Chief Constable Paul Stephenson will face an overflowing in-tray as he moves to the commissioner’s office on the eighth floor of New Scotland Yard.
His first day coincides with the closing date for applications to fill the high-profile role of Metropolitan police chief permanently and he is seen as the front-runner.
On Friday, Sir Paul led tributes to Sir Ian Blair as the controversial chief bowed out of public life after attending a ceremony for long-serving officers.
The Home Office will draw up a shortlist of candidates during December who will then be interviewed by a panel of police authority members.
Mr Stephenson, from Bacup in Rossendale, became Lancashire Chief Constable in July 2002 and left three years later to take up the post as deputy commissioner for the Met.
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