Civil servant attacks Boris Johnson over ousting of Sir Ian Blair

A senior civil servant at the Home Office today opened a major rift with Mayor Boris Johnson over the resignation of Met police chief Sir Ian Blair.

Permanent secretary Sir David Normington said he and former home secretary Jacqui Smith were "shocked and disappointed" to see the commissioner forced out of his post in October last year.

Sir Ian, 56, stepped down as Commissioner with a £1million pay-off after Mr Johnson said he no longer had confidence in him. His tenure was marked by a series of controversies and rows at Scotland Yard.

Today's intervention is a highly unusual step for a civil service chief and an indication of how unhappy the department was over Sir Ian's removal.

Speaking on a BBC Radio 4 documentary, The Ian Blair Years, broadcast today, Sir David appeared to indicate disapproval of Mr Johnson's destabilisation of the Commissioner, saying he hoped in future there would be "close co-operation" between the Mayor and the Home Office over the position of Britain's senior policeman.

He recalled how he and Ms Smith met Sir Ian after a crisis meeting between the Commissioner and the Mayor and recognised he was determined to resign.

Sir David said: "We did debate with him why he had got to this point. I think he believed that, since the Mayor had lost confidence in him, he could not continue. He was fairly resolute that he was going to stand down.

"It was a shock and it was a disappointment. We liked Ian Blair and you had to feel for the human being at the heart of this.

"This was the pinnacle of his career and he was having to step down from it and he was obviously very upset about that."

In lightly-veiled criticism of Mr Johnson's handling of the police chief, Sir David said: "The appointment of the Commissioner and the resignation of the Commissioner is ultimately a matter for the Home Secretary in law and therefore she felt that she should have been consulted about it."

Deputy Mayor for policing Kit Malthouse hit back at the criticism branding the Home Office "out of touch".

He said: "Londoners overwhelmingly believe the Mayor acted in their best interests in seeking a change of leadership at the Met.

"Part of the problem is that the Home Secretary and senior civil servants such as Sir Dave are out of touch with what Londoners need."