Sir Paul Stephenson will take the reins of Britain's largest police force, the Metropolitan Police today.

Sir Paul Stephenson will take the reins of Britain's largest police force, the Metropolitan Police today.

The 55-year-old Lancastrian will face an overflowing in-tray as he moves to the commissioner's office on the eighth floor of New Scotland Yard.

His first day coincides with the closing date for applications to fill the high-profile role permanently. He is seen as the frontrunner.

On Friday, Sir Paul led tributes to Sir Ian Blair as the controversial chief bowed out of public life.

Sir Paul will be keen to make his mark on the force, but will want to sidestep the pitfalls and blunders associated with his predecessor.

But he has already faced tough questions from London Mayor Boris Johnson over the arrest of Shadow Immigration Minister Damian Green.

Among the tasks facing him are keeping up the pressure to reduce the teenage murder rate, combating a continuing terror threat and steadying the force's leadership.

The process to appoint a permanent commissioner will last until spring and is likely to involve further clashes between the Labour Government and Tory London administration.

Sir Ian said only a handful of senior police officers have the experience and capability of fulfilling the role and said he had offered advice to three of them.

The Home Office will draw up a shortlist of candidates during December who will then be interviewed by a Police Authority panel.

Other candidates include Northern Ireland Police chief Sir Hugh Orde, Merseyside boss Bernard Hogan-Howe, West Midlands head Sir Paul Scott-Lee and Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Julie Spence.

West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable Sir Norman Bettison and National Police Improvement Agency boss Peter Neyroud have ruled themselves out of the race.