Hampshire Police and Crime Panel has approved the selection of Alexis Boon as the next Chief Constable for the force.

The decision on June 24 came after Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones chose him as her preferred candidate earlier this month.

Ms Jones said: “I am delighted Alexis will be the next Chief Constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary and I would like to take this moment to congratulate him.

“Alexis is one of the most senior and experienced national and international counter terrorism leaders in the country.

“The skill set he brings to this role will pay dividends to us here in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in our changing climate.

“I am very much looking forward to working closely with him to deliver on my Police and Crime Plan and to lead the force with strength, integrity, and commitment to providing an outstanding service to the 2.2 million people who live and work across our two counties.”

Alexis Boon joined Surrey Police as a constable in 1998 before joining the Metropolitan Police, where he worked his way up the ranks before moving to the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command.

During his time there, he led the strategic response to terrorism associated with the conflict in Syria and led hundreds of counter terrorism and national security operations across the UK and internationally.

Between 2017 and 2020 he oversaw the operational counter terrorism policing response to the terrorist attacks in London and overseas involving British nationals.

He was then appointed temporary Commander for Central Specialist Crime in 2021, running specialist crime and proactive capabilities including the Flying Squad.

On promotion to Deputy Assistant Commissioner for local policing, he led over 20,000 officers and staff across London.

Mr Boon said: “I am honoured to have been chosen as the next Chief Constable of Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary and look forward to working with Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones to keep our communities safe and deliver the best policing services we can.

“We’ll do that by making sure we are constantly talking to and listening to our communities and actively responding to their needs. Transparency of our approach is key.

“Lots of great work has already done here by the dedicated officers, staff and volunteers at Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary.

“I’m here to build upon this work and look forward to doing everything I can to equip, support and enable this exceptional team to deliver even better policing for all communities."

Mr Boon is due to take up the role in August.

He will replace Scott Chilton, who retired in April amid a misconduct inquiry.