Who was Lord Ian Blair? Former Met Police Commissioner dies aged 72, cause of death
Lord Ian Blair, the former Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, has died at the age of 72.
His cause of death is not yet known.
The crossbench peer and senior police officer led the UK’s largest police force from 2005 to 2008, during a period marked by both tragedy and controversy, including the 7/7 London bombings and the fatal shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.
Born in Chester in 1953, Blair studied English at Christ Church, Oxford, where he later became an honorary student. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1974 under its graduate entry scheme and steadily rose through the ranks, serving in both uniformed and CID roles.
He played a leading role in several major investigations, including the emergency response to the 1987 King's Cross fire. In 1998, he was appointed chief constable of Surrey Police before returning to the Met as deputy commissioner in 2000.
Blair became Commissioner in February 2005. Just months later, 52 people were killed in coordinated bombings on London's transport system on July 7.
Two weeks after the attacks, Met firearms officers mistakenly shot and killed Brazilian electrician de Menezes at Stockwell Underground station. The force was later found to have breached health and safety laws over the incident.
Blair was cleared of personal wrongdoing but continued to face public and political pressure throughout his time in the role. He stepped down in 2008 after losing the support of then-London Mayor Boris Johnson.
In his resignation letter, Blair wrote: "It has been the proudest task of my life to lead the men and women of the Metropolitan Police. It is the duty of the commissioner to lead the Met through good times and bad: To accept the burdens and pressures of office and, above all, to be a steward of the service he commands."
Lord Blair was later made a life peer and sat as a crossbench member of the House of Lords.