Neil Basu’s bid for crime agency top job ends after alleged No 10 intervention

Government has now effectively deterred the senior Met officer from two of the highest roles in law enforcement

Neil Basu is to drop out of the race to be the next leader of the National Crime Agency and is considering an official complaint after Downing Street allegedly intervened to halt the selection process.

An expert panel assessed Basu, the favourite and a former head of counter-terrorism, and Graeme Biggar, the NCA's acting director general, to be sufficiently qualified to be appointed to the high level role.