00:00The ultimate responsibility for the force's failure to discharge its duties on a matter of
00:05such national importance rests with the Chief Constable. And it is for that reason that I
00:10must declare today that the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police no longer has my confidence.
00:16It has been, as I understand it, over 20 years since a Home Secretary last made such a statement.
00:24But on the evidence provided by Sir Andy Cook, the Chief Inspector of Policing, that is now the case.
00:30Until 2011, the Home Secretary had the authority to dismiss a Chief Constable, a power that was
00:36removed by the last Conservative Government. Today, it is only Police and Crime Commissioners
00:42who hold this power. And so the Chief Constable's future rests with the local Police and Crime
00:47Commissioner and not with me. But I am sure that Simon Foster will now follow all due process
00:52as he considers that question for himself.
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