in the early 1990s as a sub-divisional commander, a posting that ended in some acrimony. He returned to Lancashire to a further Headquarters support post before being appointed in 1994 as a sub-divisional commander then divisional commander in Preston. He has also served as Assistant Chief Constable in Merseyside Police starting in 1994 until 1999 and Deputy Chief Constable in Lancashire from May 1999 under Chief Constable Pauline Clare. Stephenson succeeded Pauline Clare and was appointed as Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary in July 2002. He was appointed deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in February 2005. In September 2008 it was announced he would become acting commissioner of the Met from 1 December, following the resignation of Sir Ian Blair. In January 2009 it was announced that he had been appointed as commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service. Resignation In July 2011, Stephenson's judgement was questioned after it emerged that Neil Wallis, a former executive editor of the News of the World had acted as a media consultant to the MPS in 2009 and 2010, and also that in early 2011 Stephenson received £12,000 of free hospitality from a Champneys health spa, where Wallis was working at the time whilst Stephenson was recovering from surgery for the removal of a non-malignant tumour in his femur. On 14 July 2011, Wallis was arrested by the Metropolitan Police investigating the News of the World phone hacking scandal. On 17 July, in a lengthy statement in which he defended his actions, Stephenson announced his intention to resign as commissioner, saying that questions surrounding his integrity would otherwise become detrimental to the Met as a whole. The Deputy Commissioner, Tim Godwin, became Acting Commissioner in the interim between Sir Paul's resignation and the appointment of his successor, Bernard Hogan-Howe. This is an excerpt from Stephenson's statement: Honours Stephenson was awarded the Queen's Police Medal for services to policing in the 2000 New Year Honours, followed in 2007 by an Honorary Fellowship from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston. He was knighted in the Queen's 2008 Birthday Honours. See also News International phone hacking scandal Phone hacking scandal reference lists Metropolitan police role in phone hacking scandal References External links Times October 2008 Preston Citizen October 2008 Evening Standard October 2008 |- |- 1953 births British Chief Constables Commissioners of Police of the Metropolis Knights Bachelor Living people Deputy Commissioners of Police of