Preceded by Sir Peter Imbert Name Paul Baron | Role Police officer | |
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Full Name Paul Leslie Condon Born 10 March 1947 (age 77) ( 1947-03-10 ) Succeeded by John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington | ||
Paul Leslie Condon, Baron Condon, (born 10 March 1947) is a retired British police officer. He was the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police from 1993 to 2000.
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Education
Condon read Jurisprudence at St Peter's College, Oxford and was made an Honorary Fellow in 1996.
Policing
Paul Condon joined the police in 1967. He became Chief Constable of Kent in 1988 and Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 1993 at the age of 45, the youngest person to do so, stepping down in 2000.
His tenure as head of the Metropolitan Police Service was marked by the Stephen Lawrence case, which became a major controversy. The subsequent public Macpherson Report found the force to be "institutionally racist" and that the failure to arrest and successfully prosecute those believed guilty brought about many changes in the way the Metropolitan Police investigated murder within the capital. In 1995, Condon attracted controversy and media attention for stating that most muggers are black.
Other challenges Condon faced were Irish republican terrorism, the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, the millennium celebrations and police corruption, which led to 70 people being charged, 100 police officers suspended and changes to legislation.
Post-police career
Just six weeks after his retirement from the Metropolitan Police, Condon became head of the International Cricket Council's anti-corruption unit, investigating the game's betting controversies.
In March 2007, Mohammed Al Fayed launched legal action in France against Lord Condon, alleging he deliberately withheld evidence from the French inquiry into the death of the Princess of Wales in 1997. Condon was also named to assist Jamaican Police in their inquiry into the strangulation murder of Pakistan's World Cup cricket coach, Bob Woolmer.
In March 2007, fifty-eight-year-old Woolmer, a former England Test player and South African cricket coach, was found unconscious in his Kingston hotel room, hours after Pakistan's upset defeat to Ireland. This loss eliminated the Pakistan side, ranked fourth in the world, from the World Cup competition.
Director of G4S PLC
Condon was deputy chairman of the board of G4S until he retired from the board in 2012.
Personal life
Condon is married with three children, three grandsons and a granddaughter and lives in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent.
Honours
Condon is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) and a Companion of the Institute of Management. He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for distinguished service (QPM) in 1989. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on 20 July 1994. He was appointed Commander of the Venerable Order of Saint John (CStJ) in April 1994.
On 27 April 2001, it was announced that a life peerage would be conferred upon him. He was created Baron Condon, of Langton Green in the County of Kent. He sits as a cross-bencher in the House of Lords.