DOWNING STREET is preparing a high-risk strategy of allowing Ken Livingstone on to Labour’s shortlist for

DOWNING STREET is preparing a high-risk strategy of allowing Ken Livingstone on to Labour’s shortlist for mayor of London – if it can find a rival candidate capable of beating him. The move to challenge the “Livingstone problem” head on comes as the former GLC leader holds a rally today calling for Tony Blair to allow his name to go forward in a one member, one vote ballot in the capital.
The comedian Jo Brand and the novelist Beryl Bainbridge will attend the meeting tonight at Westminster Central Hall that will mark the start of Mr Livingstone’s campaign. In a populist move that echoed his leadership at County Hall more than a decade ago, he has placed adverts in the London Evening Standard calling on Londoners to back his right to stand.If the campaign picks up momentum, it could prove too embarrassing for Mr Blair and Labour to scupper the MP’s chances and could provoke more “control freak” headlines.Ministerial sources have indicated there is a clear twin-track approach being devised that involves either blocking the MP through a vetting panel or taking him on with a “heavy hitter” in a straight fight.The Blair camp’s decision to keep open the option of Livingstone candidacy follows worries that plans to veto him could lead to unrest in the party.Even backbench MPs who do not agree with the Brent East MP’s views believe that he should be allowed to stand.The strategy is fraught with danger for the party leadership as Mr Livingstone is believed to have significant grassroots support in London.However, party chiefs believe that the wider “armchair” membership in London, as opposed to the activists, will back a clear Blairite alternative.The Secretary of State for Health, Frank Dobson, was seen as the best person capable of winning a mayoral primary, but he has said he has no intention of standing.If no suitable candidate can be found within the next few months, the party is prepared to fall back on moves to block the former GLC leader through a vetting panel.. SIR PAUL CONDON was regarded as the embodiment of a new, modern style of policing when he was appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in 1993. The youngest commissioner this century, he has established a reputation as a reformer during his period in charge of 26,000 officers, the largest force in the country.
But his career has been beset by controversy, particularly over racially sensitive cases.

It was during his stewardship that Joy Gardner, an illegal Jamaican immigrant, died of asphyxiation during a raid by officers seeking to deport her in 1993.Two years later, there were riots in Brixton after Wayne Douglas died in a police station cell. Sir Paul also sparked public outrage when he stated in 1995 that the majority of muggers in London were black.More recently, the Met has been criticised not only over the Stephen Lawrence case, but also for its investigation into the murder of the black musician Michael Menson. The case was so badly handled that his death was treated as suicide for a year.Sir Paul, who grew up in a council house in Bournemouth, was an apprentice printer before joining the Met. He often expresses pride about the fact that he started on the same day in 1967 as Norwell Robert, the force’s first black officer.His own career took him on to the streets of the East End of London as a young beat officer. Marked out early as a high-flyer, he won a scholarship to St Peter’s College, Oxford, where he took an honours degree in jurisprudence.On his return to London, he joined Scotland Yard’s community relations branch and became staff officer to Sir Kenneth Newman, who was then the commissioner.Sir Paul’s first big break came in 1988, when he was appointed Deputy Assistant Commissioner in charge of west London, with responsibility for policing the Notting Hill Carnival. He managed to rid the carnival of the violence that had marred it during the Eighties.After four years as Chief Constable of the Kent force, where he introduced performance targets, he returned to the Met as Commissioner.In the six years since he took over, crime figures have fallen to a 10- year low. He has also launched a crusade against corrupt officers, setting up a special squad of detectives dedicated to rooting out dishonesty.Sir Paul, who is married and lives in Kent, has a reputation as something of a puritan.

One of his first actions after becoming Commissioner was to convert the notorious “Tank” bar in the Scotland Yard basement – the watering hole for generations of detectives – into a fitness centre.Even his critics say that his reforming instincts are sincere and that his weaknesses relate to leadership rather than attitude.Despite the battering that the force has received over the Lawrence case, Sir Paul is still regarded as one of the Met’s brightest and best. But, short of a miracle, he seems unlikely to survive the next fortnight.. LEGAL NOTE: The photograph that accompanied the biographical details of DS John Davidson was of the wrong man, namely PC Donald Ratcliffe. Deputy Assistant Commissioner
David OslandThird most senior officer in Metropolitan Police at time of murder, in charge of policing in south-east London. Commissioned discredited internal review of murder investigation.

Advised officers to sue Lawrence family for accusing them of racism Retired July 1994. Now Conservative councillor in Croydon.CommanderJames GibsonIn charge of operational policing in south-east London. Part of senior operational command line and therefore seen as having share of collective responsibility for failures of Lawrence case Did not give evidence in person to inquiry. Now retired.Chief SuperintendentJohn PhilpotIn charge of uniformed officers on division where Stephen was murdered.