Met chief warns of mixing politics and policing

By Kylie MacLellan

LONDON (Reuters) - Politicians must give senior police officers "breathing room" to run their forces, the outgoing Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair said on Friday, warning of the increasing politicisation of policing.

Speaking on his last day in office following his resignation last month, Blair said two decades ago high-profile police incidents were treated as a matter for senior officers alone.

"That is not where we are now. That has changed out of all recognition because crime is so significant," he told reporters.

"I think what we need is both of the major parties to give the police a bit more breathing room and recognise how extraordinary the achievements are."

Blair said crime in London had fallen by almost a fifth during his 46 months in charge, despite the police battling terror at one end and antisocial behaviour at the other.

"An unarmed service, reducing crime at a rate that has never been seen before, with public confidence going up ... now those are the areas we want to be concentrating on, not specific events, specific failures."

Blair, 55, announced his resignation at the beginning of October after effectively being asked to step down by new Conservative London Mayor Boris Johnson. He still had 16 months to go before the end of his five-year contract.

Blair had endured repeated criticism of his leadership and his handling of major investigations. He had also come under fire over one of his own incursions into politics when he had backed an unsuccessful Labour attempt to extend the amount of time terrorist suspects can be held without charge.