The commissioner, then, has a job of fire-fighting to do – and matters will not be helped by existing strains on his resources, such as the host of officers devoted to the phone-hacking affair. While it is the force’s duty to investigate all breaches of the law, it is surely wise for the Met to focus resources on an issue that threatens to do enormous damage to its reputation, and fatally distance it from the communities that it polices. Ensuring that racism has been rooted out – and that the capital is adequately protected in the run-up to the Olympics – must be its most urgent priorities.