Brian Paddick, 49, London mayoral candidate

Parental expectation
Until I was eight we lived in Mitcham, Surrey, in a world that was well-behaved and well-spoken: never was an expletive heard at home or at school. Then my parents moved the family to Tooting Bec, South London, and a bigger, better home, but what a culture shock the area represented. You heard plenty of expletives there. Always, the big motivation for my parents was to achieve the best possible education for their sons but within the state system, so eventually we moved back out to Sutton where they still had grammar schools. My dad, a former major in the Royal Tank Regiment who went on to work for Courtaulds, and my mother, who rose to a high rank in a building society at a time when few women were successful in business, were very driven people, both for themselves and for us boys. And I am very self-motivated as a result.

A dash of sibling rivalry
I have one brother, Graham, who’s 11 years older, and another, John, who’s my twin. In boyhood, it seemed to me that John was always bigger, stronger, more intelligent and more able than me. I felt forever in his shadow and it was indicative of our relationship that when I got made deputy head prefect of our school in Sutton, it was he who was appointed head. It all seemed to come so easy to John, while I saw myself as the guy who put in the most effort but didn’t get the best results. The desire to be better than him at something was a motivation back then, but I saw myself as practical rather than academic, with a strong desire to help others. And that’s why, aged 18, I decided I’d had enough of studying and applied to join the Met [ironically, Paddick would go on to get a degree at Oxford, an MBA at Warwick and a post-grad diploma at Cambridge, all on police scholarships].

Being a counter-culturalist
Given that I was always a fish out of water in the Met, it’s extraordinary I rose to the level I did [Paddick was deputy assistant commissioner at the time he resigned from the force last May, and as such was the UK’s most senior openly gay officer]. That said, there were considerable periods of time when I enjoyed the work and the kick I got from knowing I was helping deliver a good service to the community. Coming out as gay while a serving officer wasn’t easy but I drew strength from my Christian faith and from my parents. And most of all, I think I was inspired by the knowledge that many lesbian and gay people before me had suffered greatly in dealing with prejudice and in trying to change perceptions. I had got to a point in my career when it seemed it was rightly my turn at the front of the line in the push towards equality. As such, to come out was an entirely positive decision.

Wanting to put my talents to good use
If you asked my friends and family if I’m good at the life/work balance, I think that they’d say yes. And I’m helped a lot by having the most wonderful and understanding partner, one who’s taken two months off work to do whatever he can to help me in the mayoral campaign [Paddick is the Liberal Democrat candidate in the election, which takes place on May 1]. I’m standing because I think I have the necessary academic and practical experience to do the job. I’m not a politician and I’m not that good at talking, but I’m extremely good at getting things done, and done well.

Brian Paddick’s autobiography, Line of Fire, is newly published by Simon & Schuster

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