Tories call for commissioner to be fired

METROPOLITAN Police Commissioner Ian Blair was under mounting pressure yesterday as the Tories urged Home Secretary Jacqui Smith to fire him.

The demand came as he continued to defy calls to quit after his force was found guilty of serious failures leading to the death of innocent Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes.

Ms Smith backed Mr Blair, insisting he retained her full confidence, while Mayor of London Ken Livingstone attacked the “irresponsible politicians” urging the commissioner’s resignation. But shadow home secretary David Davis upped the ante with a letter to the Home Secretary asking her to reconsider her support for Mr Blair “in the interests of public safety and confidence”.