Her resignation leaves a vacuum at the top of Britain’s biggest police force. The lack of an obvious candidate to take over from Dame Cressida was in part why she was granted a two-year extension on her contract last September.
It meant there would have been plenty of time to identify and groom her successor, allowing for a seamless handover. Finding a candidate in a short time on which both Ms Patel and Mr Khan can agree on will not be straightforward.
While Sir Mark would be a popular choice with many at Scotland Yard, he clashed with the Government when he was the head of counter-terrorism policing.
Other runners and riders
Within Scotland Yard the name that was on many officers’ lips on Friday was Dame Lynne Owens, the hugely popular former head of the National Crime Agency (NCA) who retired in October after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
While she may still have the ambition and vision to do the job – and as a woman would be seen as a good choice to help tackle misogyny – it is not clear whether given her recent treatment and recovery, the time would be right to apply for the most gruelling job in policing.
Stephen Kavanagh, an executive director at Interpol and ex-Met police chief who lost out to Dame Cressida in 2017, was also named, as was Ian Livingstone, the current head of Police Scotland.
The fifth name is Shaun Sawyer, the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall since 2013. He is a former head of counter-terrorism, liked by rank-and-file officers and would be considered a calming presence at the top.
Writing on Friday in the London Evening Standard, Ms Patel made clear she wanted a “strong and decisive” leader who would overhaul the Met’s culture by rooting sexism and racism and reduce violent crime to restore public confidence in the force.
