By David Young-
An appointment to carry out an independent assessment of the Metropolitan Police Service’s (MPS) progress following the 2023 report by Baroness Casey of Blackstock into its culture and standards has been given to accomplished veteran professional, Dr Gillian Fairfield(pictured)
Jointly commissioned by the Mayor of London and the MPS Commissioner, an independent progress review was one of the 16 recommendations made by Baroness Casey to assure Londoners of the commitment to reform.
AD: Capeesh Restaurant
The progress review is designed to provide Dr Fairfield with an opportunity to deliver an independent assessment of progress made in addressing Baroness Casey’s disturbing findings and recommendations, as well as the MPS’s internal reforms under the ‘New Met’ for London Plan to fix its foundations.
Baroness Cassey’s report into the Metropolitan Police found the force to be institutionally racist, misogynistic, and homophobic. She warned that the force is “broken” and that policing by consent in London is in jeopardy. She also said that the management of people is poor, the Met’s processes do not effectively root out bad officers, help to tackle mediocre officers, or truly support and develop good
officers.
Among other damning findings, she said the Met doesn’t actively intervene to make these work better for its people, and its own policies, practices and culture serve to exacerbate the problem.
AD: Oysterian Sea Food Restaurant And Bar
Her primary recommendations included reform of the Misconduct and Vetting Systems. An establishment of an independent, multi-disciplinary team to handle misconduct cases involving sexual misconduct, domestic abuse, and discrimination.
Tougher discipline that streamlines the dismissal process for officers who fail to meet standards and end the overuse of “reflective practices” for serious misconduct. Also, the introduction of more aggressive vetting and monitoring to prevent individuals intent on abusing their power from joining or remaining in the force.
The creation of a dedicated Women’s Protection Service and a new children’s strategy to address systemic failures in protecting these groups. The reforming of Public Protection Teams and establishment of specialist “Soteria” teams for rape and serious sexual offences.
Ensuring domestic abuse services are better resourced and integrated with non-police services.
The Prioritizing of visible frontline work by restoring neighbourhood policing teams to the streets.
The disbanding and reforming of specialist units where toxic cultures and worst behaviours were found, particularly those equipped with firearms. The implementation of a total “reset” of how stop and search is used to ensure all communities are policed equally.
New Policing Board
She also recommended the establishment of a quarterly Policing Board for London chaired by the Mayor of London to increase transparency and accountability.
Commission independent progress reviews (the first of which was announced in December 2025) to ensure reforms are embedded and sustained.
Baroness Casey recommended that if the Met fails to make sufficient progress after these reviews, radical structural options—such as dividing the force into separate national, specialist, and London responsibilities—should be considered.
It will also examine whether these improvements are embedded and likely to be sustained over the long term.
Dr Fairfield will bring extensive expertise and experience to this role, having previously been appointed by the Home Secretary to lead an independent review of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, as well as working with the NHS and in the youth justice sector.
A key focus of Dr Fairfield’s work will be to ensure that reform is taking place at the scale and pace necessary to address Baroness Casey’s recommendations, support the Met to deliver for Londoners and provide – where appropriate – new ideas to help with this work.
Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We have made a huge amount of progress since the Baroness Casey review was published in early 2023. We have launched our New Met For London Plan, conducted the most extensive anti-corruption clear out in British policing history, published both our Children’s Strategy and Stop and Search Charter, added more officers to our public protection teams to keep women and girls safe and, vitally, driven down both violent and neighbourhood crime across the capital.
“These reforms have seen trust in the Met increase across the board – including among young Londoners and Londoners from black and other ethnic minority backgrounds. They are more positive about their police service than the residents of other major cities.
“Whilst I am proud of the progress made by the officers and staff of the Met, none of us are complacent, we all want the very best for London and we do not claim that the job is complete. That is why I have appointed Dr Fairfield to carry out this review which provides an opportunity not just to look back on the changes that have taken place so far, but to also generate new ideas and identify opportunities to accelerate the good progress we have made to date.
“I look forward to welcoming Dr Fairfield to the Met and working with her and her team in the coming months.”
Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan said: “Major cultural reform is underway within the Met. His Majesty’s Inspectorate confirmed earlier this year that significant improvements are being made as the Met exited special measures.
This is down to the hard work of the Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Met officers and staff. Together, we’ve made huge strides bearing down on crime in our city and the Commissioner has started the biggest clear out of rogue police officers and staff in British policing history. However, the recent Panorama broadcast and Dr Daniels’ Report have highlighted that there is still a long way to go.
“I’m committed to following up on all of Baroness Casey’s recommendations which is why I’ve appointed Dr Gillian Fairfield to carry out an independent follow-on assessment of the Met. This will review progress around culture and standards, as well as identify areas that need renewed focus.
The findings from the Casey review in 2023 were damning and we now need an honest and independent appraisal of how much has been done to address institutional racism, homophobia and misogyny.
“I’ve been clear that the Met must accelerate the pace of reform. Londoners and hardworking police officers and staff deserve a lasting transformation of Met culture – with no hiding place for officers who abuse their position of trust. As Mayor, I’ll continue to support and hold the Met to account and will not be satisfied until Londoners have the police service they deserve – one that is trusted and delivers the highest possible service to every community in our city.”
Dr Fairfield said: “I am delighted to have been asked to carry out this independent review of progress against the recommendations in Baroness Casey’s review of the MPS in 2023. I will not shy away from confronting the enormity of the challenges faced by the MPS as I take on this incredibly important piece of work anchored in restoring public trust and confidence in policing in London.
“Two and a half years have passed since Baroness Casey laid bare her findings. This Review is the next step. I have been appointed by the Mayor and MPS Commissioner to run this review independently and intend to do this without fear or favour. I intend the Review to be ruthless in its approach, calling out areas of concern but acknowledging good practice and achievements.
I will focus on making practical and helpful recommendations. These will be designed to promote good practice and ultimately ensure the MPS are able to gain the trust and confidence of the London communities they serve.
“I will be creating numerous opportunities to talk to people directly affected, both by the issues Baroness Casey explored and any later issues that have manifested within the MPS since 2023. I want
to encourage people to come forward and speak to me and to my team and to reassure them that they will be treated with sensitivity and in confidence.
“We will be launching a call for evidence and testimony in January. I aim to report back to the Mayor and the MPS in Summer 2026.”
Baroness Casey of Blackstock said: “My Review into culture and standards in the Metropolitan Police Service made clear the enormity of the reform required to clean up the Met and restore the trust and confidence of Londoners.
“I welcome Dr Gillian Fairfield’s appointment to deliver this follow-up review which will seriously consider whether sufficient progress had been made.”
Considered Assessment
The Review will make a considered assessment which identifies positive progress, as well as identifying areas which require additional focus or speedy improvement and making recommendations for action. As part of this, it will consider any recent incidents and reviews that speak to public trust and confidence that have emerged since the Casey review was published.
It will also examine the progress made by the MPS and MOPAC to respond to Baroness Casey’s report with a focus on the report’s recommendations.
Provide an assessment of the progress of the MPS’s wider reform with a focus on NMFL ‘fixing their foundations’
Identify the areas of progress within the recommendations and those where acceleration is required.
Assess progress and the extent to which the MPS’ internal reforms have fixed and are fixing the foundations, identifying areas where any serious concerns remain and making recommendations for action.
Listen to and engage with current Met officers and staff, statutory partners and community representatives and the public to understand their experiences of, and confidence in, the MPS reforms.
Consider what work should be prioritised given the wider context in which the MPS is operating and any barriers or opportunities which arise as consequence.
Professional Credentials
Gillian has worked in clinical, managerial and leadership roles across different sectors and specialties, in hospitals, general practice and public health.
In 1997, she was awarded a British Medical Association Fellowship in public health to study managed care in Washington State and Harvard Universities. In 1998, Gillian led on a review of prison health in England and Wales and was subsequently appointed to the post of Deputy Head of the national Prison Health Taskforce.
AD: Heritage And Restaurant Lounge Bar