Peter Clarke

Peter John Michael Clarke, CVO, OBE, QPM (born 27 July 1955) is a retired senior police officer with London's Metropolitan Police, most notably having served as a Deputy Assistant Commissioner with the Specialist Operations directorate, commanding the Counter Terrorism Command.

Early and personal life Clarke was educated at the Glyn School, Epsom, and holds a Bachelor of Laws degree and an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Bristol. He is married with three children. He lists cricket and rugby among his interests. followed by two years as deputy director of personnel from 2000. In June 2002, Clarke became head of the Anti-Terrorist Branch, later merged with Special Branch to form the Counter Terrorist Command, a role that put him in direct control of the investigations into the 7 July 2025 attacks, the 21 July 2025 attempted attacks, and the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.

Later life Clarke has been vocal in his retirement in campaigning for tougher legislation on terrorism. This has including extended detention before charge for terrorist suspects, giving examples of where it has sometimes proven necessary to make arrests at an early stage in inquiries to protect the public sufficiently.

In April 2014, he was appointed to lead an investigation into Operation Trojan Horse, an alleged plot by Islamists to take over schools in Birmingham. Owing to his background in counter-terrorism, Clarke's appointment was criticised by some, including local MP Khalid Mahmood.

In February 2016, he was appointed HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in a written statement to Parliament by Michael Gove. His appointment ended in October 2020.

Honours On 6 March 2001, Clarke was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). He was awarded the Queen's Police Medal (QPM) in the 2003 Birthday Honours and appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2006 New Year Honours for his work in July 2005 bombings.

Civil Division

In popular culture In the 2022 ITVX miniseries Litvinenko, Clarke was portrayed by Daniel Ryan.