I wrote this on the Radio 5 news forum last week:
In the "fog of war" organisations have to rely on clear leadership from the top. Confusion and miscommunication are rife and individuals on the front line are totally confused and can't see the "bigger picture". This is why we have training and repeated exercises, so senior officers can understand how command and control works, they can act out scenarios with various "cock ups" built in.
Whilst I have a lot of sympathy for the police, especially those on the front line who pulled the trigger, I find it very difficult to have sympathy for Sir Ian. He is at the top of an organisation that whilst stretched does appear to have been under prepared and badly led in this time of crisis. Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that he has the confidence of his staff officers to correct the obvious mistakes that were made or that he is capable of handling a similar situation, and I don't just mean the shooting.
Therefore, I conclude he must go, and the sooner the better so a new leader can start to build the public and organsiational confidence that is needed to deal with similar attacks.
But it is now simpler than that, he has become the story and he will be hounded about this whenever he is interviewed.
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