Cressida Dick pictured smiling after being forced out as Met Police commissioner by Sadiq Khan

Dame Cressida Dick was spotting smiling as she arrived at New Scotland Yard on Friday, after being forced out of her role as Met Police Commissioner by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Dame Cressida resigned after losing the support of Khan over her plan to reform the force following a string of scandals and accusations of a toxic working culture.

Her resignation came despite the under-fire Met Police commissioner previously insisting she had "no intention of going".

It is understood Dame Cressida was called to a meeting with the Mayor at 4.30pm on Thursday, but declined to attend and offered her resignation instead, catching the Home Office by surprise.

Read more: Who are the contenders to replace Cressida Dick as head of Met Police?

In her statement, she said: "It is with huge sadness that following contact with the Mayor of London today, it is clear that the mayor no longer has sufficient confidence in my leadership to continue.

"He has left me no choice but to step aside as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Service."

On Friday Dame Cressida was pictured out of uniform, smiling, following her departure from the role.

The fallout has seen Sadiq Khan accused of leaving a "void" at the top of the country’s biggest police force, which has faced a string of controversies in the past year, from accusations of racism and misogyny to its handling of investigations into Downing Street's lockdown parties.

Read more: Cressida Dick: Six scandals that brought down Met Police commissioner

Susan Hall, the Conservative chairwoman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, said Dame Cressida’s departure had been handled “extremely badly” by the Mayor.

She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Confidence in the police at the moment is at an all-time low and this won’t help.

"Ninety-nine per cent of officers are very good, brave officers. They need confidence, they need support, and to have done this in this way, I think Sadiq Khan is completely wrong.

"It will leave a void at the top as opposed to a properly managed handover, which is no way to run a service like this."

Home Secretary Priti Patel is also said to have been angered by Khan’s failure to inform her of his intention to request a meeting with the commissioner.

Patel will oversee the appointment of a new commissioner and has the final decision, though the process requires her to consult Khan as Mayor, who has said he will be "working closely" with the Home Secretary to find a successor.

Watch: Nazir Afzal on Cressida Dick's resignation

Scandals to have tarnished Dame Cressida's time at the top of the Met include the rape and murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and the force’s actions following her death in tackling a vigil held in her memory during coronavirus restrictions.

More recently the force has come under fire over the exchange of violently racist, misogynist and homophobic messages by officers based at Charing Cross police station.

Harriet Wistrich, director of the Centre for Women’s Justice (CWJ) charity, said: "There were far too many stories of officers accused of violence and abuse still in their jobs, and of whistleblowers victimised instead of listened to.

"Cressida Dick’s response to these series of stories has been wholly inadequate and her description of Wayne Couzens as a ‘wrong un’ meaningless next to the mounting evidence of multiple allegations of abuse and policing failures to tackle violence against women and racism."

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, Matthew Ryder QC said Dame Cressida was "wrong and strong" in her leadership, echoing a Jamaican expression which means "not only are you wrong, but you’re belligerent and stubborn in being wrong".

He said: "The problem with Cressida Dick’s leadership over anti-racism, anti-sexism, anti-corruption, she was wrong and strong, and you can’t have a police commissioner who is wrong and strong on those critical issues about the values Londoners hold dear."

Presenter Mishal Husain pointed out Dame Cressida did acknowledge the problems and apologised when issues came out of the force.

Ryder went on to say that he disagreed with views expressed by Susan Hall and her comments should be taken with a "pinch of salt" as she’s a Conservative Party member.

He added: "The reality is Sadiq Khan had to take a significant decision to make sure that Londoners have confidence in their police and ironically I think Sadiq’s position shows confidence in the Met. What I mean by that is he thinks the Met can be better than this.

"He thinks the Met can have a leader that does understand the culture. He thinks the Met can improve. We deserve better than a commissioner who has failed to be able to do that over several years."