Lord Blunkett called for a ‘moral reset’ of police leadership

Policing in England and Wales is “inadequate” and its leadership “needs a moral reset”, Lord Blunkett said.

Speaking exclusively to the BBC ahead of the publication of a major joint report on police leadership, the former Labor home secretary said the findings pointed to weaknesses in leadership, morale and culture within the service.

The report, to be published on Monday, concludes that there are “worrisome reasons” and that police leadership needs “fundamental reform”.

“At present the service is inadequate,” said Lord Blunkett. “The morale and motivation of many currently working in the service needs a reset.”

A report prepared for the College of Policing with former Conservative police minister Lord Herbert recommended a “root and branch modernisation” of recruitment, development and supervision in the service.

The “comprehensive” review of police leadership was commissioned to help the service respond to evolving threats and meet government targets, the College of Policing said, as public confidence in the police declined.

None of the 43 police forces in England and Wales were rated as leaders in the “recent round of inspections”. One third were rated as requiring improvement and two as inadequate.

Lord Blunkett told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Queensberg program that the evidence gathered during the review was “very high level or under investigation”.

“I think there are eight former or serving chief constables who are currently under disciplinary action or awaiting the outcome,” he said. “And this is one of the 43 powers.”

“All this leads us to believe that a new moral reset is needed,” he added.

The report highlights challenges including a lack of resources, excessive paperwork and the “degradation” of leadership cultures where officers are negative and overly risk-averse.

Lord Blunkett was also asked if he thought there was a problem with “two-tier policing”, a term used by some politicians to suggest the police are more likely to target ethnic minorities than whites.

Last month in the House of Representatives Reform UK leader Nigel Farage linked it to the police handling of the Henry Nowak murder.The teenager who was arrested on death row after the killer accused him of racism.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer denied the claims, saying he did not believe there was two-tier policing in the UK, and accused Farage of using the incident to create resentment and division.

Lord Blunkett said: “I think there is awareness. We have moved the pendulum.

“Since 1999, Macpherson has gone beyond reporting on the absolute racism in the force, particularly his reflections on the Met, to people saying, ‘Oh, wake up.’

“We have clearly shown in the report that there is no place for culture wars or revivalism. It is not the role of the police to stand on any side in our country.”