Livingstone backs Blair

London mayor Ken Livingstone has expressed his backing for embattled Metropolitan police commissioner Sir Ian Blair as media pressure continues.

Calls for Sir Ian to step down as the head of the capital's police service have increased after two inquiries into the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes at Stockwell underground station criticised the force.

But London mayor Ken Livingstone has said he and other politicians - including prime minister Gordon Brown and home secretary Jacqui Smith - "cannot allow" the police chief to be forced from his job.

Speaking on BBC's Andrew Marr Show, Mr Livingstone underlined institutional support for the beleaguered police chief, saying: "We are all pretty determined we are not going to have a media campaign drive a commissioner from office."

"Other senior officers from around the country have been saying to Ian Blair, 'if you go the job will be worthless to your successors'," he went on.

"They will spend their entire time worrying if the press is going to get upset.

"We have never had that before and we cannot allow it."

The mayor also stressed the importance of the commissioner remaining independent of politicians and the media.

"He is legally independent and we want to preserve that," he added.

Sir Ian has faced growing calls for his resignation from Mr de Menezes' family as well as the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (Ipcc) personally criticised him in its report into the Brazilian's death on July 22nd 2005.

The Metropolitan police was last week convicted of breaching health and safety laws during the incident, in which officers pursued Mr de Menezes to Stockwell underground station before shooting him seven times.