Peter Clarke | |
---|---|
Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons | |
In office February 2016 –October 2020 | |
Preceded by | Nick Hardwick |
Deputy Assistant Commissioner,head of the Counter Terrorism Command | |
In office June 2002 –2008 | |
Succeeded by | John McDowall |
Personal details | |
Born | Peter John Michael Clarke 27 July 1955 |
Children | 3 |
Profession | Police officer |
Peter John Michael Clarke,CVO,OBE,QPM (born 27 July 1955) is a retired senior police officer with London's Metropolitan Police most notably having served as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner with the Specialist Operations directorate,commanding the Counter Terrorism Command. [1]
Clarke was educated at the Glyn School,Epsom and holds a degree in law and an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the University of Bristol. He is married with three children. He lists cricket and rugby among his interests. [1]
Clarke joined the Metropolitan Police in 1977,progressing through the ranks to reach inspector in 1984,becoming a detective inspector in 1986 before joining the National Drugs Intelligence Unit in 1988. Subsequently,promoted,Clarke became Operations Chief,Central London division in 1990 and staff officer to the Met commissioner in 1993 followed by three years as divisional commander,Brixton from 1994 to 1997. [1]
Clarke then spent a further 3 years as a Commander,heading the Protection Command between 1997 and 2000,a role which placed him in charge of Royalty protection at the time of the death of Diana,Princess of Wales, [2] followed by 2 years as deputy director of personnel from 2000 to 2002. In June 2002,Clarke became head of the Anti-terrorist Branch,later merged with Special Branch to form the Counter Terrorist Command,a role which put him in direct control of the investigations into the 7 July attacks on London,the failed bomb attempts of 21 July 2005 and the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006. [1]
Clarke retired as Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations in February 2008,having delayed his retirement at the request of the then Commissioner,Sir Ian Blair,following the resignation of Andy Hayman. [3]
Clarke has been vocal in his retirement in campaigning for tougher legislation on terrorism. This has including extended detention before charge for terrorist suspects,giving examples of where it has sometimes proven necessary to make arrests at an early stage in inquiries to protect the public sufficiently. [3] [4]
In April 2014,he was appointed to lead an investigation into Operation Trojan Horse,an alleged plot by Islamists to take over schools in Birmingham. Due to his background in counter-terrorism,Clarke's appointment was criticised by some,including local MP Khalid Mahmood. [5]
In February 2016 he was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in a written statement to Parliament by Michael Gove. [6] His appointment came to an end in October 2020.
On 6 March 2001,Clarke was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order; [7] he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in the 2003 Birthday Honours [8] and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year Honours for his work in July 2005 bombings. [9] [10]
Ribbon | Description | Notes |
![]() | Royal Victorian Order (CVO) |
|
![]() | Order of the British Empire (OBE) |
|
![]() | Queen's Police Medal (QPM) | |
![]() | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
|
![]() | Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal |
In the 2022 ITVX miniseries Litvinenko ,Clarke was portrayed by Daniel Ryan. [11]
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS),formerly and still commonly referred to as the Metropolitan Police,is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London. In addition,it is responsible for some specialised matters throughout the United Kingdom,including national counter-terrorism measures and the protection of specific people,such as the monarch and other members of the royal family,members of the government,and other officials.
Elizabeth Lydia Manningham-Buller,Baroness Manningham-Buller,is a retired British intelligence officer. She was Director General of MI5,the British internal Security Service,from October 2002 until her retirement in April 2007. She became a crossbench life peer in 2008.
The Specialist Firearms Command is the firearms unit of the Metropolitan Police. The Command is responsible for providing a firearms-response capability,assisting the rest of the service which is not routinely armed.
Ian Warwick Blair,Baron Blair of Boughton,is a British retired policeman who held the position of Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest-ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.
Operation Kratos was a set of tactics developed by London's Metropolitan Police Service for dealing with suspected suicide bombers,most notably firing shots to the head without warning. The tactics were developed shortly after the 11 September 2001 attacks,based in part on consultation with Israeli and Sri Lankan law enforcement agencies on how to deal with suicide bombers. Little was revealed about these tactics until after the mistaken shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes on 22 July 2005,in the wake of the 7 July 2005 London bombings. The term is no longer used by the Metropolitan Police,although similar tactics remain in force.
The Specialist Operations directorate is a unit of the Metropolitan Police of London,UK responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities including national security and counter-terrorism operations. The Specialist Operations Directorate is currently led by Assistant Commissioner Matt Jukes.
Dame Cressida Rose Dick is a retired British police officer who served as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2017 to 2022. She is both the first female and first openly lesbian officer to lead London's Metropolitan Police Service.
The Terrorism Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that received royal assent on 30 March 2006,after being introduced on 12 October 2005. The Act creates new offences related to terrorism,and amends existing ones. The Act was drafted in the aftermath of the 7 July 2005 London bombings,and some of its terms have proven to be highly controversial. The government considered the act a necessary response to an unparalleled terrorist threat;it has encountered opposition from those who feel that it is an undue imposition on civil liberties,and could increase the terrorism risk.
Sir Paul Robert Stephenson is a British retired police officer who was the Metropolitan Police Commissioner from 2009 to 2011.
Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Branch (SO12) in October 2006,bringing together intelligence,operations,and investigative functions to form a single command. CTC has over 1,500 police officers and staff,and a number of investigators based overseas and also hosts the Counter Terrorism Policing headquarters.
Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was a British-naturalised Russian defector and former officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) who specialised in tackling organised crime. A prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin,he advised British intelligence and coined the term "mafia state".
Bernard Hogan-Howe,Baron Hogan-Howe,is an English former police officer and was the head of London's Metropolitan Police as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2011 until 2017.
The Terrorist Hunters is a controversial non-fiction book by former senior police officer Andy Hayman,co-written by Margaret Gilmore,about Hayman's role as head of the Metropolitan Police's Specialist Operations Division. The Attorney General for England and Wales,Baroness Scotland QC,sought,and initially won,a High Court injunction against the publication of the book. The book was reported to have sold 2,500 pre-order copies before the injunction was issued.
Andrew Christopher Hayman CBE QPM is a retired British police officer and author of The Terrorist Hunters. Hayman held the rank of Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at London's Metropolitan Police,the highest-ranking officer responsible for counter-terrorism in the United Kingdom. Hayman was directly responsible for the investigation into the 7 July 2005 London bombings. He has also spoken for the Association of Chief Police Officers,first on drugs policy,and later on counter-terrorism.
Michael Benedict Emmerson CBE KC is a British barrister,specialising in public international law,human rights and humanitarian law,and international criminal law. From 2011 to 2017,he was the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism. Emmerson is currently an Appeals Chamber Judge of the UN Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals sitting on the Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. He has previously served as Special Adviser to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,and Special Adviser to the Appeals Chamber of the ECCC.
Sir Mark Peter Rowley is a British senior police officer who has been the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis since September 2022.
Dame Lynne Gillian Owens,is a senior law enforcement officer in the United Kingdom. She was made interim Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service in September 2022 before being confirmed as that role's permanent holder in February 2023,the first-ever such female holder.
The Counter Terrorism Department (Urdu:سررشتہِتحقیقاتِجرائم،پاکستان;CTD) formerly known as the Crime Investigation Department (CID),are crime scene investigation,interrogation,anti-terrorism,and intelligence bureaus of the provincial police services of Pakistan.
Philip Michael Christopher Gormley,is a British former senior police officer. He is the current CEO for EACH based in Norfolk,England.
Stephen James Kavanagh is a British police officer and the United Kingdom candidate for the 2024 election of the Secretary-General of INTERPOL. He currently serves as the Executive Director for Police Services at the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL),the second-highest ranking official after the Secretary-General. Prior to his role at INTERPOL,Kavanagh served as Chief Constable of Essex Police. He has served in various UK police forces since 1985,and has received awards for his distinguished service and contribution to policing.