Ian Blair

His mother was from Sheffield and her father had made a living as a steel merchant until he suffered major losses in the Great Depression in the 1930s.

Both Blair and his brother, six years his senior, were sent to independent school at the expense of one of their father's brothers, who was a successful doctor.

Blair's brother, Sandy, left school early to work for a solicitors' firm.

His cousin was the historian John Fauvel.

Blair was sent to Wrekin College in Wellington, Shropshire.

Jim Blair had been determined that his son would become a doctor—as his father (Ian's grandfather) had been, but Ian rebelled, refusing to take O-Level biology, knowing it would disqualify him from a potential medical career.

He initially had no aspiration to go to university, as neither of his parents nor his brother had had a university education.

However, he was inspired by a teacher at Wrekin to apply to Christ Church, Oxford.

Ian Warwick Blair, Baron Blair of Boughton, (born 19 March 1953) is a British retired policeman who held the position of Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis from 2005 to 2008 and was the highest-ranking officer within the Metropolitan Police Service.

Ian Blair was born in Chester to Jim and Sheila Blair in 1953.

His father spent most of his career working for Lever Brothers, eventually rising to manage the dock at Port Sunlight in Merseyside.

He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1974 under a graduate scheme, and served 10 years in London.

After a gap year, he went on to study English at the University of Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1974.

Blair joined the Metropolitan Police in 1974, under the High Potential Development Scheme for Graduates.

He joined as the rank of Constable, based in Soho, London, eventually over the next 10 years serving as a sergeant and inspector in both uniform and CID in central London.

In 1985 he wrote a book criticising the way police handled rape cases.

In 1985 Blair was promoted to detective chief inspector in Kentish Town, North London.

He was responsible for identifying the victims of the 1987 King's Cross fire.

In 1988 he reached the rank of superintendent, heading a project designed to reorganise criminal investigations.

He obtained the rank of chief superintendent in 1991, as staff officer in HM Inspectorate of Constabulary.

In 1994, he transferred to Thames Valley Police as assistant Chief Constable, later becoming deputy chief constable in 1997, and during the same year took charge of policing the protests over the construction of the Newbury bypass.

In the 1999 New Year Honours, he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in recognition of his work as Chief Constable of Surrey Police.

In 2002 he publicly stated that "Society cannot duck the fact that most muggers are black", and in response the National Black Police Association stated that black recruits could be deterred by such comments.

Several months into his tenure, Jean Charles de Menezes was shot and killed by armed police who mistakenly believed he was a suicide bomber.

After the shooting Blair telephoned the Chairman of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and wrote a letter to the Home Office stating that "the shooting that has just occurred at Stockwell is not to be referred to the IPCC and that they will be given no access to the scene at the present time".

Blair stated that a warning had been issued prior to the shooting.

The IPCC held an investigation into what later turned out to be a false statement, and into allegations of attempts to delay an inquiry.

He was appointed a knight bachelor in the 2003 Birthday Honours for services to the police, and had his knighthood conferred on him by HM The Queen on 7 November 2003.

Blair was formerly deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police under the then commissioner Sir John Stevens, and before that chief constable of Surrey Police.

While serving as deputy commissioner, he gained a reputation for being a "thinking man's policeman".

He called for more female, ethnic minority and gay recruits.

As deputy chief constable of Thames Valley Police, he handled the protests over the construction of the Newbury bypass, and then became chief constable of Surrey Police, before being appointed deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, and then commissioner in January 2005.

His term of office saw the mistaken shooting of an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, which resulted in contradictory police reports, and his comments on race caused some controversy among ethnic-minority police officers.

On 28 March 2006, Paddick accepted a statement from the Metropolitan Police that it "did not intend to imply" a senior officer had misled the probe into the shooting and that "any misunderstanding is regretted".

On 2 August 2007 the IPCC announced its findings that the allegations against Blair couldn't be substantiated, instead placing the blame for misleading the public on Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman, who had failed to report his suspicions that an innocent man had been killed, and had released contradictory statements to the press.

After Blair learned that the shooting of de Menezes had been a case of mistaken identity, he briefly considered resigning.

During the investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) into the wrongful shooting, one of his Deputy Assistant Commissioners Brian Paddick stated just six hours after the shooting that a member of Blair's private office team had believed the wrong man had been targeted.

This allegation was contradicted by New Scotland Yard, and Paddick said that this amounted to accusing him of lying.

In October 2008 he announced that he would step down from the post in December after disagreements with Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London.

Blair was appointed as a crossbench life peer in July 2010.