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Lord Ian Blair, Former Met Police Commissioner, Dies at 72

Tributes from policing leaders together with academic colleagues recall his crisis leadership during the July 7 attacks alongside debates over police accountability

Overview

  • Christ Church College at the University of Oxford confirmed his death on July 11 and extended condolences to his family
  • Blair led the Metropolitan Police from February 2005 to October 2008, overseeing the response to the bombings that killed 52 people in July 2005
  • Officers shot dead Brazilian electrician Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell station two weeks after the attacks, a case of mistaken identity that resulted in the Met’s 2006 health and safety conviction
  • Under pressure from Mayor Boris Johnson’s loss of confidence, Blair resigned in October 2008 after a bitter showdown over his leadership
  • He was ennobled as Lord Blair of Boughton in 2010 and served as a crossbench peer, influencing discussions on policing reform until his death