Sir Ian Blair's political allies rallied behind him yesterday and insisted that criticism of his leadership should not lead to his early resignation.

However, several senior Scotland Yard officers the Guardian spoke to admitted the Met commissioner's position had been undermined by a series of problems since he took the top job exactly a year ago today. "We cannot have another f*******-up. We cannot have a commissioner who is viewed as a chump and a laughing stock," said a senior colleague generally regarded as loyal to Sir Ian.

Yesterday, the commissioner's deputy, Paul Stephenson, issued an outright denial of a story in the Daily Mirror which claimed that 140 senior officers were lobbying for Sir Ian's removal.
"I do not believe this story to be true," said Mr Stephenson. "He has my full backing and the overwhelming support of his senior colleagues."

Both the Yard and the Home Office dismissed as "rubbish" claims that Charles Clarke, the home secretary, had summoned Sir Ian to discuss his future.

London's mayor, Ken Livingstone, also gave Sir Ian his support, insisting the past 12 months had been a "dramatically good year for London policing", despite the police shooting of an innocent Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes, in the hunt for the July 21 bombers.

"The force in London is more confident and optimistic than at any time in the last 15 to 20 years," he added.

Several members of the Metropolitan police authority also strongly defended Sir Ian. Richard Barnes, MPA member and Conservative London assembly member, said his job was safe for now but he must concentrate on making London safer. "All the rest is dinner party chatter and that should stop." Independent MPA member Lord Toby Harris called the resignation claims "completely fictional" and hoped Sir Ian would not quit.

Sir Ian landed himself in more trouble last week by remarking that he did not understand why there had been so much interest in the Soham murders, while questioning the coverage of murders of people from ethnic minorities.

The commissioner apologised for his comments the next day after a barrage of criticism. Several Yard sources, who did not wish to be named but were generally supportive of Sir Ian, admitted his position was now precarious and he could not afford to put a foot wrong.

"He made an insensitive remark [about Soham], he has apologised and he retains the confidence of his senior management team," said one. "But it would be naive to think no damage has been done. It would be mad not to think his job is in danger - we can't have too many more headlines like that."

Another source said that the commissioner was acting like Marie Antoinette, with a "let them eat cake" philosophy.

The biggest threat to Sir Ian's position undoubtedly remains the crisis over De Menezes shooting. The Crown Prosecution Service is deciding whether any of the officers involved will face charges.

But Sir Ian, who insists he did not know the wrong man had been shot until the next day, faces a separate inquiry into comments he made in the immediate aftermath.

This should be complete by the end of March and could at best see him completely exonerated, at worst facing a criminal charge of misconduct in public office. Sources said Sir Ian would not be interviewed until near the end of the inquiry and it was much too early to tell how it would go. One officer said that while he did not believe Sir Ian had told any lies over De Menezes, it was ill-advised of him to give a press conference before he had established the full facts.

Colleagues had advised Sir Ian to keep his head down, but the officer denied he had lost the confidence of his force, saying there were no signs of mutiny at present.

Some within the Yard believe the media coverage has been vindictive and verging on the abusive.

Backstory

Sir Ian Blair is far from the only Metropolitan commissioner to face calls for his resignation. Sir Robert Mark, who made many internal enemies rooting out corrupt officers before taking the top job in 1972, described his welcome at Scotland Yard: "I felt rather like the representative of a leper colony attending the annual garden party of a colonial governor." Sir David McNee left office humiliated by the Queen's discovery of an intruder in her bedroom in 1982. Sir Kenneth Newman was castigated over his handling of riots in Brixton and Tottenham.