It doesn’t take long for Sir Paul Stephenson, once the most powerful police officer in the country, to despair. We are 55 minutes into proceedings inside court seven at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, when it’s clear sentencing for the second case of the day can’t go ahead. The probation officer tasked with writing a pre-sentencing report went on holiday and nobody bothered to tell anyone, prompting the presiding magistrate to apologise to the convicted criminal for his wasted £150 round trip fr