Sir Mark will to return to Scotland Yard four years after leaving policing. Dame Cressida Dick resigned as head of the force earlier this year. The news comes fewer than two weeks after the Met was put into special measures by the police watchdog.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “Sir Mark Rowley is a distinguished and exceptionally experienced police officer, having served the people of the West Midlands and Surrey before guiding the capital through some of its most challenging moments in the wake of the 2017 terror attacks, as the Met’s then head of counter-terrorism.
“He now takes on one of the most important and demanding jobs in policing, leading the country’s largest force at a time when public trust in the Metropolitan Police has been severely undermined.”
Sir Mark said: “Our mission is to lead the renewal of policing by consent which has been so heavily dented in recent years.”
He was the chief constable of Surrey from 2008-11, before joining the Met. In 2018 he was knighted for his contribution to national security. Since leaving the force he has worked on security and policy projects including carrying out a review with the Commission for Countering Extremism.
The appointment is for an initial five-year term.
