Policing has become “more politicised” at a time when trust in the force has dropped, according to Dame Cressida Dick in one of her first public speeches since stepping down as Britain’s top cop.

       Dame Cressida quit as Metropolitan Police Commissioner last month after London Mayor Sadiq Khan made it clear he had no confidence in her plans to reform the service.

       Dame Cressida, who was speaking at a conference in Dublin to mark International Women’s Day, reflected on the social changes in the force since she began her career nearly 40 years ago, walking the beat in London’s Mayfair and Soho districts.

       Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick alongside police officers during a walkabout in Westminster, London (Victoria Jones/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       She told the International Association of Women in Policing event: “Like many other services, we have seen a drop in confidence in our service and we have seen policing becoming more politicised.

       Recommended Ukraine news: Zelensky says Putin will attack Nato next Why has Russia invaded Ukraine? The conflict explained Sign The Independent’s petition to help the people of Ukraine

       “Of course, quite properly given those events and, in particular, the murder of Sarah (Everard, who was murdered by a serving Met officer last March), profound questions have been asked and we have asked ourselves about how inclusive are we, really?

       “What more do we need to be truly anti-racist, anti-sexist, anti-homophobic – to be truly professional?

       “What else should we be doing to reduce the scourge of violence against women and girls, which is truly endemic in British society and, I think, globally.”

       People viewing floral tributes left at the bandstand in Clapham Common, London, for Sarah Everard (Victoria Jones/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       Dame Cressida said she has “brought in a highly-respected independent reviewer to examine our culture in every aspect”.

       She said the expert will work with a small team over nine months and look at “absolutely every way in which we behave and treat each other” before she makes recommendations for action and change.

       She said the last two years have been “really challenging for everybody”, including those involved in policing.

       She added: “The pandemic, social changes, political changes, economic changes, the dreadful murder of George Floyd and the subsequent global movements and latterly the massive upsurge in interest, quite properly, in the awful extent of violence against women and girls as a result of the appalling murder in London of Sarah Everard by one of my – our – serving police officers, and, of course, other high profile cases such as, recently, Ashling Murphy.”

       A photograph of Ashling Murphy among flowers and candles at a make-shift shrine during a vigil in her memory at Leinster House, Dublin, following her murder(Brian Lawless/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       Miss Murphy, 23, a teacher, was attacked and killed while running along a canal near Tullamore in Ireland in January.

       Ms Everard, 33, was abducted in London by Wayne Couzens – under the guise of being arrested for breaching Covid guidelines – before he raped and murdered her.

       Dame Cressida, the first women to head up the Met, did not speak specifically about her resignation but urged people to support women and help overcome bias.

       She said she worked in a fish and chip shop and at an accountancy firm before joining the force and they were “more sexist, more racist, and we broadly represented society’s attitudes to women and work”.

       She added: “I am not na？ve, for some colleagues it was downright miserable and unpleasant.

       “But for many others, including me, I so am lucky I fell in love with policing. I found my mission, my passion, my niche, and we will always, are always and should be always full of hope.

       “Back then, buoyed up by the feminist movement and new anti-discrimination legislation, we knew that the world would change.

       “It may not have changed as fast as we would have liked but, my goodness, it has.”

       Dame Cressida Dick arriving at New Scotland Yard, central London, the day after she resigned as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

       (PA Wire)

       Among the controversies that have dogged Dame Cressida’s reign at the Met include the fury at the way it handled a vigil held in Ms Everard’s memory during coronavirus restrictions.

       Concern has been also been raised after racist, misogynist and homophobic messages exchanged by officers based at London’s Charing Cross police station were published by a watchdog.

       Recommended Sir Bob Geldof among line-up for fundraising event in support of Ukraine ‘Serial bully’ and ‘liar’ John Bercow insists he has nothing to apologise for Man charged with murder of Martin Gavin

       Dame Cressida told the conference that only about 30 per cent of officers in the Met are women, while 37 per cent of women form part of the overall force.

       She said “there is much to do” in terms of recruitment and is hoping that something close to 1,800 or 2,000 women will be joining the Met next year.