Resign! MPs call on Yorkshire police chief to quit over nepotism

Grahame Maxwell narrowly avoided dismissal yesterday when he was given a final written warning for attempting to help a relative circumvent a recruitment process. But after details of the case were published, MPs declared his position had now become untenable.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which carried out the investigation into Mr Maxwell, revealed that his “unacceptable” initial defence against his wrongdoing was “essentially saying he could do what he wanted because he was the Chief Constable”.

Commissioner Nicholas Long said Mr Maxwell’s actions had “seriously undermined” his reputation and added that the chief – along with other unnamed senior policing figures – had questioned the IPCC’s investigators’ abilities “in an unacceptable attempt to discredit the investigation”.

The inquiry found Mr Maxwell had failed to report his actions for a week after the role of Deputy Chief Constable Adam Briggs in the affair had been flagged up by another senior officer. Mr Maxwell himself reported Mr Briggs to North Yorkshire Police Authority, but then took another week to disclose his own actions to Simon Dennis, the force solicitor. The IPCC’s report said Mr Maxwell admitted to Mr Dennis he had been an “a*******”, a comment the chief denied making.

Mr Maxwell declined to comment on the IPCC’s findings or the sanction handed down by an independent panel. But, in a statement from his lawyers, he said he now wished to “return to purely focusing on that which he does best – policing”.

It added that the chief “at no time intended to breach or knowingly breached professional standards” and “did not intend to confer any improper advantage on another person”. Mr Maxwell was back at his desk yesterday afternoon.

However, Skipton and Ripon Tory MP Julian Smith said: “I’m surprised he’s still in his post. There is a clear need to lead by example and after admitting gross misconduct I don’t think it’s tenable to lead a police force where trust is key.

“I think he should go and there should be complete transparency about the terms of his departure. I am also concerned by the culture that seems to have existed at the top levels of North Yorkshire Police. For the Chief Constable to claim he could do what he wanted because he was the boss, and for other leaders not to feel they could question him, is clearly unacceptable.”

The Labour MP for York Central, Hugh Bayley, added: “Grahame Maxwell has done well in reducing crime in North Yorkshire but, after this decision, he should think seriously about his position.”

But the Tory MP for Thirsk and Malton, Anne McIntosh, struck a more conciliatory note, saying: “They could have dismissed him but clearly they believed it was not a dismissable offence. Obviously he’s not going to make that mistake again and I hope he can now be left to get on with the job. He is a very fine Chief Constable and I think the record of North Yorkshire Police speaks for itself.”

Mr Maxwell’s fate could ultimately lie with the attitude of his employer, North Yorkshire Police Authority (NYPA), which is understood to be taking the public temperature before deciding its course of action.

In a statement, the authority said: “The fact that Mr Maxwell has received a final written warning should not be taken to diminish the seriousness of his actions – rather it is a significant sanction demonstrating the gravity attached by the panel to this gross misconduct. It is likely that Mr Maxwell’s previously untarnished police service record had an impact on the panel’s determination as did, to a lesser extent, his last minute decision to admit his guilt after a 15-month process.

“It is perhaps regrettable that Mr. Maxwell did not admit his guilt late last year. He could have avoided organisational and personal turmoil and unnecessary cost to the council taxpayer. Instead, Mr Maxwell has sought, over the last six months, to avoid being held to account for his actions by pursuing spurious legal remedies and unsustainable arguments in his defence.

“However, NYPA accepts and respects the panel’s determination. The authority now calls upon Mr Maxwell to rebuild both the public’s confidence in the police service and his personal reputation amongst the community he serves and the organisation he leads.”