Former Metropolitan Police commissioner Lord Ian Blair has died aged 72, Sky News understands.
Lord Blair led the force for three years between 2005 and 2008 and was in charge during the 7/7 London bombings.
The 20th anniversary of the attack, which killed 52 people, was on Monday.
The Met’s response notoriously including the shooting dead of an innocent man, Jean Charles de Menezes, at Stockwell Tube station two weeks later.
He was killed under the mistaken belief he was a suicide bomber, and Lord Blair was later accused of obstructing inquiries into the incident.
Appointed by former prime minister Tony Blair, he quit in late 2008 saying he did not have the confidence of the new Tory mayor Boris Johnson.
Lord Blair was seen as a liberal figure, sometimes jokingly referred to as “PC Blair”, and was active in the House of Lords right up until his death.
He joined the police in 1970s and served with other forces before joining the Met, where his work as a detective included investigating the fatal 1987 King’s Cross fire.
Lord Blair later served in senior position for the Thames Valley and Surrey forces.
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