Neil Basu has said he will ask the government for an explanation as to why he was overlooked as the next leader of the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The 53-year-old deputy commissioner of the Met said he would not reapply for director general after the application process reopened.
Basu, the former head of the UK counterterrorism police, told the Sunday Times: “I am disappointed with the way the process has ended and I will not apply again. I will seek an explanation from the Home Office.”
The Guardian reported on Thursday that a panel of experts assessed that Basu, the favorite for the job, and Graeme Biggar, the NCA’s acting general manager, were qualified enough to be appointed to the post.
Both were told by Matthew Rycroft, the permanent secretary of the Home Office, that they would not be elected. Instead, the process of finding a candidate would be restarted and the application could be resubmitted.
It is understood that none of the applicants has received a reason.
A Whitehall source confirmed claims that the selection process was halted because Downing Street intervened and favored Bernard Hogan-Howe, the former Met commissioner and vocal supporter of Boris Johnson, for the role of the NCA.
Basu’s demand for an explanation came when Hogan-Howe, 64, issued a statement defending his tenure as Met commissioner from 2011 to 2017.
He told the Sunday Times: “I took the helm of the Met at a time of unrest for the organization following the London riots and high-profile public investigation and criminal investigation into telephone piracy. I’m proud of what i got it in the post.
“Under my tenure, leading an organization of 50,000 people, the 2012 Olympics were delivered safely and crime in London was reduced by almost 20% in 2016, as the Met investigated 1 million crimes in the year”.
Hogan-Howe was widely condemned for the disastrous investigation into an alleged network of establishment pedophiles launched by word of mouth from Carl Beech, who was later jailed in 2019 for perverting the course of justice.
Earlier this week, the widow of the late former Home Secretary Leon Brittan, the family of the late Lord Bramall and former Conservative MP Harvey Proctor demanded that the Prime Minister reconsider whether Hogan-Howe was fit to be the head of the ANC after presiding over Operation Midland.
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The former Met commander told the Sunday Times: “Operation Midland made some significant mistakes, for which I have personally apologized to all those who were so affected. Our failure to see through the deception of the alleged victim Carl Beech caused deep pain and suffering.
“But it was my own concerns that led to an internal review of this investigation, and it was I who made the decision to appoint Sir Richard Henriques QC to arrive at the facts of the case.
“Despite his criticism in Midland, he found no systemic failure in the metropolitan police in the investigation of historical sex crimes.”
The Interior Ministry said: “A fair and open recruitment campaign is underway to make the best possible appointment for this vital role.”