# Sir Paul Robert Stephenson

see wikipedia →Paul Robert Stephenson

“Sir Paul Robert Stephenson, QPM (born 26 September 1953) was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, 2009-2011, the most senior police officer within the United Kingdom. On 17 July 2011, Stephenson announced his intention to resign from the post of Commissioner as the result of speculation regarding his connection with →Neil Wallis, arrested on suspicion of involvement in the →News International phone hacking scandal.

In July 2011, Stephenson's judgement was questioned after it emerged that Neil Wallis, a former executive editor of the News of the World had acted as a media consultant to the MPS in 2009 and 2010, and also that in early 2011 Stephenson received £12,000 of free hospitality from a Champneys health spa, where Wallis was working at the time whilst Stephenson was recovering from surgery for the removal of a non malignant tumour in his femur. On 14 July 2011, Wallis was arrested by the Metropolitan Police investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal. On 17 July, in a lengthy statement in which he defended his actions, Stephenson announced his intention to resign as commissioner, saying that questions surrounding his integrity would otherwise become detrimental to the Met as a whole. The Deputy Commissioner, Tim Godwin, became Acting Commissioner in the interim between Sir Paul's resignation and the appointment of his successor, Bernard Hogan-Howe.

This is an excerpt from Stephenson's statement. “I have this afternoon informed the Palace, Home Secretary and the Mayor of my intention to resign as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. I have taken this decision as a consequence of the ongoing speculation and accusations relating to the Met’s links with News International at a senior level and in particular in relation to Mr Neil Wallis who as you know was arrested in connection with Operation Weeting last week.””

See Dailymail →Yard chiefs who quit over phone hacking 'are given £500,000 in secret cash pay outs' (7 Jan. 2012)

“Two of Britain’s most senior police officers pocketed substantial pay-offs after resigning over the phone-hacking scandal, the Daily Mail can reveal. Former Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson and his colleague John Yates are thought to have received up to £500,000 between them. The cash was handed out after the pair signed gagging orders which bar them from suing the Metropolitan Police or speaking about their treatment. The exact size of the payments, at a time of savage cuts to police budgets, was a closely guarded secret. But speculation was mounting that the total cost to the taxpayer, including fees racked up during weeks of legal wrangling, could be as much as half a million pounds. The pay-offs underline how the scandal plunged the Met leadership into chaos amid a flurry of revelations about their close links to News International. The force is now braced for further criticism after the Audit Commission, a public spending watchdog, ordered a review of how the pay-offs were agreed. Critics highlighted how both officers appeared to have been handsomely rewarded despite choosing to leave as a result of their own failings…”