Greater Manchester's police chief has no plans to apply for top job at The Met...yet

Greater Manchester Police’s chief constable says he has no plans to apply for the country’s top policing job following the resignation of Dame Cressida Dick.

Stephen Watson QPM plans to remain with GMP despite ‘speculation’ about who may take over as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service.

Mr Watson - who took over as chief constable last May - says he is both “honoured and privileged” to serve as chief constable.

And though he admits it would be ‘disingenuous’ to suggest he has no interest in the role at The Met, he says it would be “quite the wrong time” and “dishonourable” to seek to move on from GMP.

In a letter to officers and staff, the chief constable says he is focused on “getting back to policing basics” and throwing off “our recent travails”.

Citing recent progress, he says officers are dealing with calls “more expeditiously, recording crime more faithfully, arresting many more criminals and achieving a significant increase in positive outcomes for victims”.

With public confidence in policing under strain, Mr Watson says the force must be “even more determined to live up to what the public have a right to expect”.

In his letter, he warns that those “unwilling or incapable of keeping pace” with best practice will not survive and speaks of a ”fierce resolve to weed out the unworthy”.

He writes: “I routinely obtain reports of the courage, determination and skill that are daily displayed by excellent people in difficult circumstances. I thank you all for your service and sacrifice.

“The future for GMP is positive and, on the basis of the quality of our people, continuous future improvement is assured.

“Our journey to the delivery of better policing to the people of Greater Manchester is now well underway;