MET CHIEF TO TACKLE 'REBEL' COMMANDER

Cdr Brian Paddick, who spearheaded a low-key approach to cannabis
possession in Brixton, south London, was on holiday in Australia when
a furore over his remarks on a radical internet website arose last
month.

The commander, who presides over the area with the highest mugging rate in
London, has admitted being the author of more than 25 contributions to the
website about drugs and anarchism under the name Brian: The Commander.

Cdr Paddick, 43, who is regarded as one of the most unconventional
officers in the Met, will see Sir John to explain his contributions,
although Scotland Yard denied he was being carpeted.

Sir John told a recent meeting of the Metropolitan Police Authority: "I will
see Brian when he gets back and will not be making any judgments until I have
spoken to him. He is a highly proficient officer and he will be treated with
dignity and courtesy."

David Blunkett, the Home Secretary, has already made clear his
feelings, saying that "what he does in Met time is Sir John's business".

Senior officers contacted Cdr Paddick on holiday to tell him about the
furore his comments had caused.

Cdr Paddick, who is Britain's most senior openly homosexual policeman,
made his comments on the Brixton edited www.urban75.com, which is
devoted to discussions of direct action protests, anarchy and drugs
issues.

In one posting, he said: "The concept of anarchism has always appealed
to me. The idea of the innate goodness of the individual that is
corrupted by society or the system. It is a theoretical argument but I
am not sure everyone would behave well if there were no laws and no
system."

In another posting, he said: "Most people in the police think I am a
beyond redemption."

His comments have left many officers astonished and Glen Smyth, the
Metropolitan Police Federation chairman, compared Cdr Paddick's views
with those of a "hard Left Leninist".