For years, I’ve wanted to get Bas Javid into The Spectator. His diary this week offers a fascinating insight into his route into the police and life in the Met https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/bas-javid-why-I-joined-the-police/amp">https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/b...

He left school aged 16, joined the Navy - and then the police a few years after. He was the only Asian cop in the (Bristol) force he joined (at the time). He then rose to the very top of British policing and is now a Commander in the Met.

This bit - about him discussing dream jobs with his brother Saj in 2006 - is particularly poignant. They said: Home Sec and Met Commander. Neither thought they’d get close. As Bas puts it in his diary: “This is a country of incredible opportunity. More people should know that.”

When Bas Javid finished his Strategic Command Course a couple of years ago, his mum - who had almost nothing when she arrived in Britain from Punjab - was there to see him handed his certificate by her other son, then Home Secretary.

Policemen never tend to write such articles: Met Commanders speak through official statements. But Bas Javid’s story is as inspirational - perhaps even more so - than his brother’s so I’m delighted that he has shared it. We’ve made his diary free to read. https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/bas-javid-why-I-joined-the-police/amp">https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/b...