Sir Steven House, the deputy commissioner of the Met, has complained that “due process” was not followed.

A Whitehall source said: “No matter what you think of [Dame] Cressida, Sadiq failed to act with an ounce of professionalism in her removal, so it’s right we look at what happened, if the proper process was followed – and how we can strengthen accountability of chief constables and police and crime commissioners in the future.”

A City Hall source accused the Home Secretary of “petty politics”. 

The inquiry will be carried out by Sir Tom Winsor, the chief inspector of constabulary, who is stepping down from the watchdog this week.

A spokesman for Mr Khan said: “Public trust in the Met Police is at the lowest level on record, following a series of devastating scandals, including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer and the overt racism, sexism, misogyny, homophobia and discrimination exposed at Charing Cross Police Station, and the appalling strip-search of a black schoolchild where the Child Safeguarding review found that race was a factor.

“It was against this backdrop that the Mayor lost confidence in the ability of the current Met Commissioner to lead the deep-rooted change needed.”