Fury at Sir Ian Blair’s £1m pot of gold

SIR Ian Blair is to get a pay-off worth £1million, it was revealed today.

He is to be paid a lump sum of £295,000 - the amount he would have earned if he had remained in charge of the Met until February 2010 when his contract was due to expire.

This will be topped up with £100,000 which includes perks and bonuses he could have collected as Commissioner. The bonuses are for cutting crime and boosting ethnic diversity. Sir Ian is also entitled to a payment of £672,000 if he takes the full lump sum payment he is entitled to - four times his final salary pension of £168,000.

The deal was described by one MP as "absurd" and by another as "ridiculous". It includes a four per cent annual pay rise plus travel and accommodation allowances.

After February 2010, Sir Ian, 55, is due his index-linked pension, although if he takes the full lump sum up front this will dramatically reduce his regular pension payments.

The package was agreed in secret by the Metropolitan Police Authority last week. It was approved by Mayor Boris Johnson's deputy for policing Kit Malthouse.

Sir Ian quit the Met last month after the Mayor took control of the MPA and told the Commissioner he wanted to see a change of leadership. He steps down officially on 1 December.

His deputy Sir Paul Stephenson will run the force while a new Commissioner is chosen. Sir Ian is expected to face renewed criticism after the inquest into the police shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.

This week the police authority is also expected to agree a £300,000 settlement with Assistant Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur over his racial
discrimination case against the Met.

Mark Wallace, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "While people struggle to make ends meet, Sir Ian Blair is walking away with a small fortune."

Conservative MP David Davies, who sits on the home affairs select committee, said: "It's completely absurd. If somebody resigns they should not be able to carry on claiming their salary plus all the perks and bonuses. If
everyone was able to do that then many people would resign their jobs immediately and carry on cashing in."

Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: "It's surely ridiculous to pay extra bonuses for a period when he will not be the Metropolitan Police Commissioner."