Sir Ian Blair is facing a crucial 12 days that could make or break his attempt to hang on to his job as his support diminishes within his police authority.

He has vowed to remain Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police after a jury at the Old Bailey found the force guilty of catastrophic failures that led to the death of Jean Charles de Menezes in July 2005.

A vote of no confidence in the commissioner has been called for at the Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA), where up to half of the 23 members are expected to vote against him or abstain.

However, the extraordinary meeting to discuss “as a matter of urgency the implications of the guilty verdict in the Health and Safety trial of the Crown vs the Office of the Commissioner”, has been delayed for at least a week. This will give Sir Ian’s supporters on the authority time to lobby support. But the voting could be swayed by the commissioner’s performance when he appears before the London Assembly on Wednesday.

Factfile: revelations from the de Menezes trial

Information about the police killing of Jean Charles de Menezes, on July 22, 2005, that has emerged during the trial

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• Pictures: Jean Charles de Menezes

BACKGROUND

• Ian Blair survives no confidence vote

• Timeline: how de Menezes identity emerged

• Come quietly, Sir Ian – you’re banged to rights

• ‘It is my task to ensure that lessons are learnt’

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Related Links

• Men in bungled raid say police attacked again

• Hurdles ahead if Commissioner is to keep job

• He's lost the public's trust, so Ian Blair must go

Multimedia

• Pictures: the de Menezes case

David Davis, the Shadow Home Secretary, has called on Jacqui Smith, the Home Secretary, to “restore public confidence” by sacking the commissioner. In a letter to Ms Smith, he said: “I regret to say that in view of the systemic failures that led to the death of Mr de Menezes, the public can have little confidence that Sir Ian Blair is the right person to ensure those vital lessons are learnt.

“In your response, you said that Sir Ian had your ‘full confidence and our thanks and support’. I would ask you to reconsider that judgment in the interests of public safety and confidence.”

He added: “We now need the right leadership, at every level [of the police], in order to restore public confidence. The judge, opposition parties and the Mayor of London have acknowledged the systemic failure for which only the commissioner can bear responsibility.

“I put it to you, in the strongest terms, that the most important and immediate action that the Home Secretary can and should take, in these circumstances, is to replace Sir Ian Blair with a commissioner who can command the force’s confidence, restore the public’s trust and protect the nation’s security.”

Putting further pressure on Sir Ian, Ann Cryer, Labour MP for Keighley and a member of the Home Affairs Select Committee, broke ranks to call for his resignation. “In his heart of hearts, Sir Ian must know that he bears some responsibility [and] should consider his position very carefully,” she said.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat spokesman for home affairs, said that Sir Ian’s resignation was “unavoidable”.

Keith Vas, chairman of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, called for an inquiry into the internal processes that led to the shooting.

He said that his committee had been prevented from questioning Sir Ian about the incident because of other inquiries.

However, Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, said that Sir Ian’s resignation would intensify the fears of officers that they could be hauled up in court on health and safety charges. “I wouldn’t put the irresponsible politicians attacking the police commissioner within a million miles of running the kind of anti-terror operations London has had to deal.”

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