Sir Steve House announced as Scotland Yard’s second-in-command

Scotland Yard has announced a new second-in-command, as the force tackles violence across London.

Sir Steve House was named as the incoming deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police on Friday, and will start a five-year contract in January.

Commissioner Cressida Dick, Home Secretary Sajid Javid and London mayor Sadiq Khan celebrated the promotion of the officer who oversaw the merging of eight forces to create Police Scotland.

Sir Steve’s tenure there was not without controversy, with criticism for his decision to deploy armed officers on routine patrols and the force’s large-scale use of consensual stop-and-search.

He also apologised after officers took three days to respond to a crash on the M9 near Stirling, which saw two people die.

Mr Javid said: “Sir Stephen has demonstrated his leadership qualities, he is the right choice to help steer the country’s biggest force, particularly in its work tackling violent crime in the capital.”

So far this year, there have been 105 homicides in London, with about three in five being stabbings.

Sir Steve resigned as chief constable of Police Scotland in November 2015 before working in the private sector.

After returning to the Met as an assistant commissioner in March this year, he will take over from Sir Craig Mackey when he retires at the close of December.