Peter Clarke (Police officer)

Peter Clarke

Peter John Michael Clarke (born 27 July 1955) is a former police commander who headed Scotland Yard’s Anti-Terrorism Branch from June 2002 and its successor organisation the Counter Terrorism Command, until his retirement in February 2008. He became the face of the UK police’s counterterrorism operations following the July 2004 and has been one of the most widely quoted ‘terrorism experts’ in the media.

Education and Career

Peter Clarke was born on 27 July 1955. He joined the Metropolitan Police in 1977 after graduating in Law from Bristol University. In the early part of his career he worked at a number of locations in London in both uniform and detective roles, including periods on murder enquiries and in international drugs intelligence.

There followed postings in strategic planning, as operations head in a central London division, and as Staff Officer to the Commissioner.

In 1993 he was appointed a staff officer to Met Commissioner Paul Condon, and in 1994 he became the Commander of Brixton Division in South London. From April 1995 to January 1996 he was a director of Brixton Challenge Company Ltd, which was set up in 1993 to manage a five-year regeneration programme for the Brixton area, funded by a £37.5 million ‘city challenge’ government grant.

In 1996 Clarke was promoted to a Commander in Specialist Operations Department at Scotland Yard. In 1997 he assumed command of the Royalty and Diplomatic Protection Department, with responsibility for the protection and security of the Royal Family and their residences, the diplomatic community in London and the Houses of Parliament.

In June 2000 he became the Deputy Director of Personnel for the Metropolitan Police, and in June 2002 was appointed as Head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch at New Scotland Yard and National Co-ordinator of Terrorist Investigations. On 2 October 2006 the Anti-Terrorist Branch was merged with Special Branch to form the Counter Terrorism Command, which was led by Clarke. The new body developed closer relations with the secret service, with Clarke acting ‘as the interface between the police and MI5’.

Clarke attended the Royal College of Defence Studies in 2002, was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in 2001 and awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in 2003. In 2006 he was made an OBE.

Clarke attended the International Terrorism and Intelligence conferences in 2005 and 2006. Both conferences were held at the Royal College of Defence Studies on Belgrave Square, and hosted by the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence of the University of St. Andrews.

On 20 September 2007 Scotland Yard announced that Clarke would step down in January 2008. Clarke’s retirement was delayed for a month as he stood in for his immediate superior Andy Hayman who retired amid allegations of an improper relationship with a official of the Inepdenent Police Complaints Commission. Clarke retired in February 2008.

After retirement

On 29 April 2008 Clarke was appointed a director of the Crimestoppers Trust, the website of which is sponsored by the Security Industry Authority.

Clarke is a Fellow of the Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law. Other Fellows include the terrorism expert Peter Bergen and his collaborator Paul Cruickshank – both of whom are affiliated to the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University – and Sidney Blumenthal, a journalist and former advisor to Bill Clinton.