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Balham-born Brian Paddick, 49, is no stranger to being in the public eye. He was the highest ranking openly gay police officer in the country and pioneered a controversial 'softly-softly' approach to drug enforcement when he was Commander in Lambeth.

Brian Paddick's police career also survived allegations (the most serious of which he was later cleared) from a former partner that he smoked cannabis. Dubbed the 'crackpot commander' by some tabloids for his Internet chatroom musings on anarchism, Mr Paddick has come a long way from being a bobby on the beat.

The Met's Man

After joining the Metropolitan Police service in 1976, Mr Paddick rose steadily through the ranks from constable to a detective and to becoming the borough Commander of Merton and, later, for the borough of Lambeth, which includes Brixton, Streatham, Clapham, Norwood and Waterloo. At Lambeth he was directly responsible for 940 police officers, 230 support staff and an annual budget of £37m.

The Met recognised Mr Paddick's talents early on. He was given a police scholarship to study Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Queen's College, Oxford, and a MBA from the University of Warwick. He also has a diploma in Policing and Applied Criminology from Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge.

Lambeth Commander

Brian Paddick was a 'front line' community officer during the Brixton riots in 1981. Relations between the residents and the police in the inner-city borough would remain strained for much of the next twenty years. Lambeth, with Brixton at its heart, was a poor borough, was ethnically diverse and deeply distrustful of the police.

Brian Paddick

When Mr Paddick took over as Lambeth's Police Commander in December 2000, he said he was fulfilling a career ambition. He said it was 'not just a job, it was a personal commitment.' Paddick's openness and informal style was welcomed by the local community and he became a popular local figure. When he spoke at meetings in Brixton's Town Hall he would often be given standing ovations.

It was to be Mr Paddick's cannabis initiative in the borough that really brought him to national prominence. People caught with cannabis were dealt with informally rather than arrested. The cannabis was confiscated and the individual was warned, with no further action taken.

Police could save time on paperwork and concentrate on other crimes. A Scotland Yard review would show that crimes in the borough had fallen and arrests for more serious crime offences had risen.

After Lambeth

When the cannabis-smoking allegations first surfaced in March 2002, Mr Paddick was suspended from his post while an inquiry was being carried out. During this time, his popularity with the local people was evident as hundreds attended rallies demanding his reinstatement.

Despite strong local support and despite being cleared of the allegations, Mr Paddick was moved to a 'desk-job' in the Specialist Crime Directorate, which deals with serious cases such as murder, kidnap and fraud. In November 2003, following a brief period back in borough-based policing in north west London, Mr Paddick was promoted to Deputy Assistant Commissioner. His other high-profile roles within the Met include acting as the Police spokesperson during the London bombings in July 2005.

Brian Paddick finally retired from the Metropolitan Police on 31 May 2007, after 31 years of service. True to form, his departure was not without controversy: Mr Paddick had voiced some criticisms of Met Commissioner Sir Ian Blair's handling of the Jean Charles de Menezes shooting.

Policing is one of the Mayor of London's primary responsibilities. Should Brian Paddick be elected, it will be another step in an eventful career.