About Ian Blair
Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, (19 March 1953 – 9 July 2025) was a British police officer who held the position of Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2005 to 2008. Blair joined the Metropolitan Police in 1974 under a graduate scheme, and served 10 years in London. As deputy chief constable of Thames Valley Police, he handled the protests over the construction of the Newbury bypass, and then became chief constable of Surrey Police, before being appointed deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and then commissioner in January 2005. His term of office saw the mistaken shooting of an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, which resulted in contradictory police reports, and his comments on race caused some controversy among ethnic-minority police officers. In October 2008 he announced that he would step down from the post in December after disagreements with Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. Blair was appointed a crossbench life peer in July 2010. In May 2010, Blair was appointed a crossbench life peer, and was created Baron Blair of Boughton, of Boughton in the County of Cheshire on 20 July 2010. In the 1999 New Year Honours, he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in recognition of his work as Chief Constable of Surrey Police. It has however been reported in the press that on one occasion another company was turned down for a contract won by Impact Plus, despite its bid being a third of the winning offer. The recording was not illegal and it was said to be simply to enable an accurate record to be taken for him in the absence of a note taker.
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