Sir Andy Cooke to stand down as HMICFRS chief inspector next year

Sir Andy has led the inspectorate as His Majesty’s Chief Inspector since 2022, having previously served as chief constable of Merseyside Police. He has served as an HM Inspector since March 2021.

Sir Andy has worked in UK policing and law enforcement for nearly 40 years, having served at every rank within the police.

During his tenure, Sir Andy was awarded a knighthood by His Majesty the King for services to policing and to public service in the King’s New Year’s Honours List 2025.

Sir Andy said: “It has been a great honour to serve in this important role and the pinnacle of my 40-year career. I am immensely proud of the work undertaken by the inspectorate and together with our dedicated staff, we have supported innumerable improvements across both policing and fire and rescue. Both forces and services are in a better position than in which I found them.

“However, there remains much more to do, both for individual forces and services to get a grip on performance, and systemic changes which need to be led by government and other central bodies.”