Britain's Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe speaks to media at the Metropolitan Police Control Centre in central London, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016. Hogan-Howe, Britain's most senior police officer, has announced he'll retire in February, seven months before his contract expires. (Nick Ansell/PA via AP) (The Associated Press)
LONDON – Britain's most senior police officer has announced he'll retire in February, seven months before his contract expires.
Bernard Hogan-Howe's resignation comes amid suggestions of tensions with London Mayor Sadiq Khan — though the newly elected leader denied he was behind the decision. It also comes before the release of a report on police handling of historic child sex abuse claims.
Hogan-Howe says he'll remain in his post to offer time to find a successor.
The 58-year-old Metropolitan Police commissioner's achievements included a successful 2012 London Olympics and an 18 percent drop in London's crime rate.
But the latter part of his tenure has been dogged by controversy over Operation Midland, a two-year investigation into claims that VIPs were linked to pedophile rings. No one was charged.
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