Cressida Dick to leave Met police earlier than planned, says Priti Patel

Home secretary says deputy commissioner Sir Stephen House will cover until successor appointed

Cressida Dick's tenure as the Metropolitan police commissioner will end next month, the government has said, with continued wrangling over a payoff and an inquiry announced into why she decided to resign.

The home secretary, Priti Patel, announced Dick's five years as Britain's top police officer would end in April, with the process to find a replacement to pull the Met out of crisis expected to start imminently.