Met Police commissioner Cressida Dick steps down, saying London's mayor 'no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership'

• Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick announced she has stepped down from her role.
• Dick said London's mayor "no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue."

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick stepped down from her role amid criticism of the police force's handling of Prime Minister Boris Johnson's partygate scandal.

"It is clear that the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue," Dick said in a statement, posted on Twitter by ITV News correspondent Daniel Hewitt.

Dick added that she will stay on the force "for a short period" to oversee the transition of a new Commissioner.

"I am incredibly proud of my team and all they have achieved," she said.

She added that "London is becoming safer," and that she is leaving the Met while violence is down and the force is growing toward its largest number of officers ever.

Mayor Sadiq Khan told Dick Wednesday she has "days and weeks" to keep her job after a series of scandals, Insider previously reported.

According to Insider, watchdogs had accused the Met of presiding over a culture of misogyny within the force. Most recently, the department faced criticism for initially saying it would not be investigating partygate, in which staff at 10 Downing Street held gatherings — including a birthday celebration for Prime Minister Boris Johnson — during COVID-19-related lockdowns.