Alexis Boon has been confirmed to be the new chief constable for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

The senior Met Police officer pledged to develop a responsive service to the public.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel appointed Mr Boon as the new chief constable of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary after the police and crime commissioner (PCC) Donna Jones proposed him as the preferred candidate.

At the confirmation hearing panel in Winchester on Tuesday, the Conservative PCC said he is a very experienced senior police officer in the United Kingdom, with experience as not only a national counter-terrorism commander but also an international counter-terrorism commander.

She said that the new chief constable had led some of the most complicated and large-scale firearms jobs in the country and was the head of local policing in the Metropolitan Police Service.

She added: “For us here, the skillset, the level of complexity and problem solving that Alexis had to undertake and perfect  in his role, are skills that will pay dividends to us here.”

In his speech, Mr Boon said the job was appealing as it is an “interesting force”.

“You have cities and islands, ports, airports, vast tracks of rural countryside. There are some real challenges here, and I find that particularly appealing. I think you join the police to make a huge difference to the public. Where could you make a bigger difference as a chief constable? The influence you can have and the difference you can make are phenomenal. It does draw me to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”

Mr Boon said that he started in the county force of Surrey Police in 1998, and back into county force policing brings him “emotional connections”.

From his time as a borough sergeant in North Surrey, he began to work closely with communities, refining partnership relationships and developing problem-solving strategies with local authorities.

In 2002, he transferred to the Metropolitan Police as a detective in West London, where he worked on public protection crime squads, targeting gun and drug gang activity across London and into some of the surrounding county forces.

“I enjoyed my time in local policing and getting good bedrock to develop relationships to understand how local communities work. I’ve had to understand how to build relationships with some communities that distrust the police, to find it difficult to have a relationship with the police and managed to find my way and build some key connections and relationships with difficult-to-reach communities.”

In 2012, Mr Boon participated in counter-terrorism policing, contributing to the security of the Olympic Games. Later, in 2017, he led the operational response to the counter-terrorism attacks in London.

Over the last four years, he has served as the chief officer of the Metropolitan Police, responsible for central specialist crime and local policing in South London. He was appointed as a deputy assistant commissioner two years ago.

He said that the skills he can bring to the region involve managing critical incidents and threats, dealing with complexity and implementing changes.

“I enjoy policing, and I enjoy talking to and engaging with communities. Fundamentally, it is about that engagement for me. It’s about understanding what people need and developing your service to be responsive to the public and deliver for the public.”

“If the trust is put in me, I will repay the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.”

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