Peter John Michael Clarke, CVO, OBE, QPM (born 27 July 1955) is a retired senior police officer with London's

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

most notably having served as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner with the

Specialist Operations The Specialist Operations directorate is a unit of the Metropolitan Police of London, UK responsible for providing specialist policing capabilities including national security and counter-terrorism operations. The Specialist Operations Directorate ...

directorate, commanding the

Counter Terrorism Command Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Bra ...

Early and personal life

Clarke was educated at the

Glyn School Glyn School is a boys' comprehensive secondary school – with a co-educational sixth form – in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in the English county of Surrey. History The school was originally called Epsom County Grammar School for Boys, w ...

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

and holds a degree in law and an Honorary Doctorate in Law from the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. He is married with three children. He lists

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

among his interests.

Career

Clarke joined the

in 1977, progressing through the ranks to reach

inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

in 1984, becoming a detective inspector in 1986 before joining the National Drugs Intelligence Unit in 1988. Subsequently, promoted, Clarke became Operations Chief, Central London division in 1990 and staff officer to the Met commissioner in 1993 followed by three years as divisional commander,

Brixton Brixton is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th ce ...

from 1994 to 1997. Clarke then spent a further 3 years as a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

, heading the Protection Command between 1997 and 2000, a role which placed him in charge of Royalty protection at the time of the death of

Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

, followed by 2 years as deputy director of personnel from 2000 to 2002. In June 2002, Clarke became head of the Anti-terrorist Branch, later merged with

Special Branch Special Branch is a label customarily used to identify units responsible for matters of national security and Intelligence (information gathering), intelligence in Policing in the United Kingdom, British, Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, ...

to form the

Counter Terrorist Command Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) or SO15 is a Specialist Operations branch within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Counter Terrorism Command was established as a result of the merging of the Anti-Terrorist Branch (SO13) and Special Br ...

, a role which put him in direct control of the investigations into the 7 July attacks on London, the failed bomb attempts of 21 July 2005 and the

poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko A poison can be any substance that is harmful to the body. It can be swallowed, inhaled, injected or absorbed through the skin. Poisoning is the harmful effect that occurs when too much of that substance has been taken. Poisoning is not to ...

in 2006. Clarke retired as Assistant Commissioner Specialist Operations in February 2008, having delayed his retirement at the request of the then

Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

Sir Ian Blair 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 Pol ...

, following the resignation of

Andy Hayman Andrew Christopher Hayman CBE QPM (born 1959) is a retired British police officer and author of ''The Terrorist Hunters''. Hayman held the rank of Chief Constable of Norfolk Constabulary and Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations at ...

Later life

Clarke has been vocal in his retirement in campaigning for tougher legislation on terrorism. More controversially this has including extended detention before charge for terrorist suspects, giving examples of where it has sometimes proven necessary to make arrests at an early stage in inquiries to protect the public sufficiently. In April 2014, he was appointed to lead an investigation into

Operation Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse scandal, also known as "Operation Trojan Horse" or the Trojan Horse affair, involves claims of an alleged conspiracy that there was an organised attempt to introduce an " Islamist" or "Salafist" ethos into several schools in Bi ...

, an alleged plot by

Islamists Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is c ...

to take over schools in Birmingham. Due to his background in counter-terrorism, Clarke's appointment was criticised by some, including local MP Khalid Mahmood. In February 2016 he was appointed

HM Chief Inspector of Prisons His Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons is the head of HM Inspectorate of Prisons and the senior inspector of prisons, young offender institutions and immigration service detention and removal centres in England and Wales. The current chief insp ...

in a written statement to Parliament by Michael Gove. His appointment came to an end in October 2020.

Honours

On 6 March 2001, Clarke was appointed

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Monarchy of Canada, Canadian monarch, Mon ...

, he was awarded the

Queen's Police Medal The King's Police Medal (KPM) is awarded to police in the United Kingdom for gallantry or distinguished service. It was also formerly awarded within the wider British Empire, including Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, most of whic ...

in the 2003

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

and appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in the 2006 New Year Honours for his work in July 2005 bombings. {{center,
Royal Victorian Order UK ribbon

Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

Police Long Service and Good Conduct ribbon

{, class="wikitable" , - style="background:silver;" align="center" , Ribbon , , Description , , Notes , - , Royal Victorian Order UK ribbon

, ,

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

(CVO) , , * Commander * 6 March 2001 , - , Order of the British Empire (Civil) Ribbon

, ,

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) , , * Officer * Civil Division * 2006 New Year Honours , - , Queens Police Medal for Merit

, ,

(QPM) , , * 2003 Birthday Honours , - , UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon

, ,

Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'or de la Reine Elizabeth II) or the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2002 to mark the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

, , * 2002 * UK version of this medal , - ,

, ,

Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal The Police Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is a decoration for police officers of the United Kingdom. First instituted in 1951, the medal is presented for twenty aggregate years of service in the police services of the United Kingdom. Criter ...

, ,

References

{{reflist, 30em {{2011 News Corporation scandal {{Authority control {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Peter 1955 births Living people People educated at Glyn School Alumni of the University of Bristol Metropolitan Police chief officers English recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Metropolitan Police recipients of the Queen's Police Medal Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Officers of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the News International phone hacking scandal