Ha!

[winterbadger]

The Metropolitan Police has been ordered to withdraw its claim to be “the oldest police service in the world” after the advertising watchdog ruled that the Glasgow force had been around longer.

A complaint was made to the Advertising Standards Authority after the Met advertised for royal protection police in newspapers last month, stating: “We’re not just the oldest police service in the world. We’re also the most modern.”

The complaint, which is believed to come from a long-serving Glasgow officer, said that the City of Glasgow Police were set up in 1800 - 29 years before the Metropolitan Police force was formed under Sir Robert Peel.

from The London Times

Comments

[sensaes.livejournal.com]

The Met just need a better lawyer, since they can trace their roots back to the formation of the Bow Street Runners by the Fielding brothers in 1753...

[winterbadger]

from the Met's webpage:

"Founded by Sir Robert Peel in 1829, the original establishment of 1,000 officers policed a seven-mile radius from Charing Cross and a population of less than 2 million."

While the Bow Street Runners were officers of the law who operated in the city of London, they were not the same as or predecessors of the Metropolitan Police. They acted more as sheriff's bailiffs than as police officers. In contrast, the Glasgow force was intended from the beginning to act as police, even having it inscribed on their badges.