Ex-London police chief Blair cleared of misconduct

LONDON (Reuters) - London's former police chief Ian Blair has been cleared of misconduct over the award of multi-million pound contracts to a company owned by one of his friends, the force's governing body Wednesday.

An inquiry was launched last year into Blair's actions over police IT contracts worth 3 million pounds which were won by Impact Plus, a consultancy owned by his long-term friend Andy Miller.

The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), the body which oversees the capital's force, said a report delivered to its standards committee had exonerated Blair of wrongdoing.

"It (the committee) determined that the report and supporting evidence did not demonstrate any evidence of dishonesty," the MPA said in a statement.

"It also concluded that there was no evidence that any criminal offence had been committed."

Blair stepped down as Metropolitan Police Commissioner at the end of last year amid criticism of his leadership and his handling of some major investigations, and allegations of racial discrimination over which he was later cleared.

He had suffered months of negative headlines, particularly over the shooting dead by counter-terrorism officers of an innocent Brazilian man, Jean Charles de Menezes, in July 2005 after he was mistaken for a suicide bomber.

The questions over the contracts put his position into further doubt and, despite his determination to stay in the job, London mayor Boris Johnson, who was elected last May, made it clear that he wanted a new man to take over.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Matthew Jones)