Sir Ian Johnston CBE QPM DL BSc (Hons.)

Biog: Sir Ian Johnston CBE QPM DL BSc (Hons.)

Sir Ian Johnston served 44 years as a officer, starting his career with the in 1965. During his early life in the Met he served in a variety of posts, and later held senior positions in command of Crime Policy and Operations, and in Public Order.

While in the Met in 1982, he obtained a First Class Honours Degree in Social Administration through a Police scholarship to the London School of Economics.

In 1989, he moved to Kent County Constabulary, where he served as an Assistant Chief in Operations.

He returned to the Metropolitan Police in August 1992 as Deputy Assistant Commissioner. In March 1994, he was appointed Assistant Commissioner for South East London, and led the MPS’s re-opening of the investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence.

In January 1999, Sir Ian took over as Assistant Commissioner for Central London, and assumed responsibility for policing all large events in London, such as the Millennium celebrations, Notting Hill Carnival and many major demonstrations.

In the early part of 2000, the MPS went through a re-structuring process and Sir Ian took on a new role as Assistant Commissioner Territorial Policing, which included overseeing the 32 Boroughs, as well as control of Operational Support Units at New Scotland Yard, with a budget in excess of £1bn and staff of over 16,000.

In 2001, he was appointed Chief Constable of British Transport Police. During his eight years as chief of the force, he undertook a major re-organisation of this national force and in 2005 led the response to terrorist attacks on our transport system in London.

Despite these challenges, BTP hit its key operational targets throughout this time, and made a significant contribution to safety and free movement of passengers and staff on the railway, and on London Underground. These targets included some novel ones he introduced to speed up the recovery of the transport system following disruption from events such as suicides. Sir Ian held a national role with the Association of Chief Police Officers Crime Business Area for 16 years, and in March 2005 was appointed its Chair for a second term. He was also appointed as a non-executive director of Police Mutual Assurance Society, a medium size building society with primarily police officers as customers

During his police service, he served on various government working parties, including the Youth Justice Task Force and the Home Secretary’s working party on crime statistics. In 2008/9, he conducted the enquiry into the MPS arrest of Damian Green MP, the then Police minister.

On leaving the Transport Police in September 2009, he was appointed Director of Security and Resilience for the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), and had the challenge of managing the consequences of the failure of the man-guarding provider to deliver the contracted work force. Despite the challenges, high levels of public satisfaction were recorded in relation to professionalism of the operation and the queuing times for the public

On the expiry of his contract with LOCOG at the end of 2012, Ian took a role as a non-executive director with the Security Industry Authority, the government’s regulator for the security industry, a role he still holds. He sits on the main board and the HR Committee. Since 2016, he has also been a member of the Football Association Regulatory Committee.

Ian uses his other available time currently in senior positions in a wide range of voluntary roles. He was appointed as a Representative Deputy Lieutenant for London in January 2008, and has responsibility for the Borough of Camden. He is the Chairman of the trustees of the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, a member of the Audit Committee for the British Museum and a governor of a special needs school in Orpington. He sits on a number of other committees, including those of the Bromley Youth Music Trust to help their development and fundraising, and the Ex Metropolitan Police CID Officers Association to help with their welfare arrangements

He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree by City University in November 2007 for his support for their study of policing. He has served as an external examiner for Canterbury Christ Church University for their BSc and MSc degrees in Policing. In 2013, he was made an Honorary Fellow, and shortly after appointed as a Governor on the University Board, where he is now Deputy Chairman of the Board. He also chairs the remuneration committee and sits on a number of others, including HR.

He is married with two sons, and two granddaughters. In his private time he enjoys keeping fit by jogging and walking, and is Chairman of a boys’ football club in Orpington, a role he has held for more than 35 years. During this time, the club has gone from playing on park pitches to owning its own ground and associated facilities. It currently provides football for some 19 youth teams.

In the New Year’s Honours 1995, he was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal. In the Birthday Honours 2001, he was awarded a CBE. In the Birthday Honours of 2009, he was awarded a Knighthood.