Lord Stevens

Kirsty Young's castaway this week is the former head of the Metropolitan Police, Lord Stevens. Although he was to become known as 'the policeman's policeman', it was not his first career choice - as a child he wanted to be a pilot but was told that his eyesight was not good enough for him to make it his career.

His first beat, more than forty years ago, was on Tottenham Court Road in London. He soon moved over to CID and earned the nickname 'Swifty Stevens' for his impressive arrest record. When he took over at the Met in 2000, it had just been branded 'institutionally racist' and the morale and reputation of the force was at rock bottom. He's credited with turning it around and regaining public confidence. Even in his retirement, he's continuing to head two major investigations - one into the circumstances around the death of Diana, Princess of Wales and the second into football bungs.

[Taken from the original programme material for this archive edition of Desert Island Discs]

Favourite track: Reach for the Sky by Central Band of the R.A.F. Book: Reach for the Sky: The Story of Douglas Bader by Paul Brickhill Luxury: Cellar of champagne