Neil Basu

Anil Kanti "Neil" Basu (born 1968) is a former senior British police officer.

From March 2018 to September 2021, he served as Assistant Commissioner for Specialist Operations in the Metropolitan Police and the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for Counter Terrorism Policing.

Basu left the Metropolitan Police at the end of November 2022.

Career
Basu became a police officer in 1992, and has spent his whole career serving with the Metropolitan Police Service. He is currently the most senior serving British police officer of Asian heritage: his father was from Kolkata, India and his mother was from Wales.

During the George Floyd protests, Basu spoke out about racism in policing, stating he was "horrified" by George Floyd's murder.

Basu has stated he believes British policing is institutionally racist, criticising other senior British police officers for their reluctance to agree.

Following the resignation of Lynne Owens as Director-General of the National Crime Agency, Basu was one of the final candidates under consideration to replace Owens, until the Home Office restarted the selection process in May 2022.

Honours