John Arthur Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, (born 21 October 1942) is a former

Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis is the head of London's Metropolitan Police Service. Sir Mark Rowley was appointed to the post on 8 July 2022 after Dame Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February 2022. The rank of Comm ...

(head of the Metropolitan Police Service), having served from 2000 until 2005. From 1991 to 1996, he was Chief Constable of

Northumbria Police Northumbria Police is a territorial police force in England, responsible for policing the ceremonial counties of Northumberland and Tyne and Wear. It is the largest police force in the North East by geographical area and number of officers. T ...

before being appointed one of HM Inspectors of Constabulary in September 1996. He was then appointed Deputy Commissioner of the Met in 1998 until his promotion to Commissioner in 2000. He was a writer for the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

'', for £7,000 an article, until his resignation as the hacking scandal progressed. He sits in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is a minor party or independent member of some legislatures, such as the Parliament of Australia. In the British House of Lords the term refers to members of the parliamentary group of non-political peers. They take their name fr ...

Police career

Stevens was educated at St. Lawrence College, Ramsgate, the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

, where he took an

LLB A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree, and the

University of Southampton The University of Southampton (abbreviated as ''Soton'' in post-nominal letters) is a public university, public research university in Southampton, England. Southampton is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universit ...

, where he did his

MPhil A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at least ...

degree. Before becoming Chief Constable of Northumbria, he served as Assistant Chief Constable of the

Hampshire Constabulary The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in South East England.Hampshire Constabulary, 2012 Retrieved 27 April 2012 The force area in ...

(1986–88) and Deputy Chief Constable of the

Cambridgeshire Constabulary Cambridgeshire Constabulary is the local territorial police force that covers the county of Cambridgeshire and the Peterborough district of the ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire administered by the unitary authority of Peterborough City Co ...

(1988–91). He presided over an external police inquiry into allegations in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

of collusion between the British security services and

loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cr ...

paramilitaries in a series of killings during

the Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

. Stevens's third report, published on 17 April 2003, upheld the claim and explicitly said that

collusion Collusion is a deceitful agreement or secret cooperation between two or more parties to limit open competition by deceiving, misleading or defrauding others of their legal right. Collusion is not always considered illegal. It can be used to att ...

leading to the murder of Catholics (and some

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

wrongly thought to be

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

or nationalist) had taken place. In the aftermath of the report,

David Trimble William David Trimble, Baron Trimble, (15 October 1944 – 25 July 2022) was a Northern Irish politician who was the inaugural First Minister of Northern Ireland from 1998 to 2002 and leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) from 1995 to 20 ...

, then-leader of the

Ulster Unionist Party The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist political party in Northern Ireland. The party was founded as the Ulster Unionist Council in 1905, emerging from the Irish Unionist Alliance in Ulster. Under Edward Carson, it l ...

, called for a parliamentary inquiry into the collusion, while the leaders of the

SDLP The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP; ) is a social democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland Assembly ( MLAs) and two members of Parliament (MPs ...

and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

called for a full public inquiry. A subsequent government ordered review by Sir Desmond de Silva, QC, announced in December 2012, confirmed the findings of the Stevens 1, 2 and 3 Inquiries regarding collusion between British security forces and loyalist paramilitary groups in killings in Northern Ireland, which resulted in 97 convictions, and a large number of recommendations, which were accepted.

Post-retirement

After his retirement as Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, on 6 April 2005 he was created a

life peer In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...

as Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, of

Kirkwhelpington Kirkwhelpington is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northumberland about northeast of Hexham. It is on the River Wansbeck alongside the A696 trunk road between Otterburn and Ponteland. History Kirkwhelpington has medie ...

in the

County A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. He headed a Metropolitan Police inquiry,

Operation Paget Operation Paget was the British Metropolitan Police inquiry established in 2004 to investigate the conspiracy theories about the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in a car crash in Paris in 1997. The inquiry's first report with the findings of t ...

, into the

death of Diana, Princess of Wales During the early hours of 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, died from injuries sustained earlier that night in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed, Diana's partner, and the driver of the Mercedes-Benz ...

, on 31 August 1997, which reported its findings in 2006. Lord Stevens was asked by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, under

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, to be their candidate for the London Mayoral elections. He declined this offer.Rentoul, Joh
"The day Boris became Mayor was the beginning of the end for Dave"
''The Independent'', 4 May 2008 On 29 June 2007, having become one of the UK's leading security experts, in-coming Prime Minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

appointed Lord Stevens as his Senior Advisor on International Security Issues.

appointed Stevens as Chair of the Borders Policing Committee in 2007, a position he held for 9 months focusing on the reorganisation and policing of the UK's borders. In 2011, he was appointed by

Yvette Cooper Yvette Cooper (born 20 March 1969) is a British politician who has served as Home Secretary since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, Cooper has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), member of parliament (MP) for Po ...

MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Home Affairs to Chair an Independent Commission Policing Commission into the Future of Policing in England and Wales. The Commission, which reported its findings in Spring 2013, was set up in place of a Royal Commission and is made up of nearly 40 members all of whom are experts in the fields of academia, politics, national and international policing/security as well as key figures from community initiatives and business. In addition the Commission has secured contributions from 35 academics from 25 Universities from around the world including, Oxford University, Cambridge University, Northumbria University and Harvard University. Lord Stevens became Honorary President of the

Police Credit Union The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. This commonly includes ensuring the safety, health, and possessions of citizens ...

in 2007. He is also Patron of the Police History Society. Lord Stevens holds positions at a number of security consultancy companies. Since 2014, he has been Chairman of the private investigative and security consulting firm Quest Global Limited, where he is also a person with significant control. In 2020, Lord Stevens was forced to apologise when he was "found in breach of the House of Lords' code of conduct for failing to correctly declare his work for foreign governments" in connection with his position at Quest Global Limited and his other consultancy work. Quest Global Limited was also mentioned in connection with the alleged bugging of Sir Frederick Barclay at the London Ritz hotel in 2020 and the subsequent legal action brought by Sir Frederick and his daughter against other members of their family.

Honours

Awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth countries, most of which now have their own hono ...

in the

1992 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1992 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countrie ...

, he was knighted in the

2000 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2000 for the United Kingdom and New Zealand were announced on 31 December 1999, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2000. The ''Honours list'' is a list of people who have been awarded one of the various or ...

and made Deputy Lieutenant of London in 2001. In 2002 he was made a Knight of the Order of Saint John.

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

In April 2007 Lord Stevens became

Honorary Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many Commonwealth of Nations, countries which have historical British influ ...

of No 3 (Royal Auxiliary) Air Force Police Squadron. He is the Honorary Colonel of Northumbria Army Cadet Force. On 28 November 2005, he was appointed Chancellor of

Northumbria University Northumbria University (legally the University of Northumbria at Newcastle) is a Public research university, public research university located in Newcastle upon Tyne, North East England, North East of England. It has been a university since 199 ...

. He holds an Honours Degree in Law, a master's degree of Philosophy, a Doctor of Law, Honorary Degrees of Doctor in Civil Law, Doctor of Letters and a Doctor of Philosophy. He is a Fellow of

Wolfson College, Cambridge Wolfson College () is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The majority of students at the college are postgraduates. The college also admits "mature" undergraduates (aged 21 and above), with around ...

, and was a visiting professor at

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven ...

(CUNY). Lord Stevens holds a Commercial Pilot's Licence and is part owner of several aircraft.

Styles and honours

* Mr John Stevens (1942–1963) * PC John Stevens (1963-through ranks, including Detective Chief Superintendent-1986) * Assistant Chief Constable John Stevens (1986–1989) * Deputy Chief Constable John Stevens (1989–1991) * Chief Constable John Stevens (1991–1991) * Chief Constable John Stevens QPM (1991–1998) * Deputy Commissioner John Stevens QPM (1998–2000) * Commissioner John Stevens QPM (2000) * Commissioner Sir John Stevens QPM (2000–2001) * Commissioner Sir John Stevens QPM DL (2001–2002) * Commissioner Sir John Stevens KStJ QPM DL (2002–2005) * The Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington KStJ QPM DL FRSA (2005–present)

Arms

Autobiography

References

External links

Profile on BBC website

Download: Lord Stevens' 832-page Operation Paget Report Into The Death of Diana
14 December 2006
John Stevens interviewed by John Kampfner on

New Statesman ''The New Statesman'' (known from 1931 to 1964 as the ''New Statesman and Nation'') is a British political and cultural news magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first c ...

2 August 2004. {{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, John Stevens, Baron 1942 births Living people Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Crossbench life peers Life peers created by Elizabeth II Deputy lieutenants of the County of London British Chief Constables People educated at St Lawrence College, Ramsgate Knights Bachelor Knights of the Order of St John Alumni of the University of Leicester Alumni of the University of Southampton People associated with Northumbria University English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Place of birth missing (living people) Deputy lieutenants of Greater London Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts