Exclusive: Bereaved son's legal victory may prove costly for chief constables

Anthony Jordan, 65, who claims the death of his mother Winifred in 2005 was caused or hastened by abuse in a care home, said he had faced "hurdle after hurdle" during his five-year quest for answers.

But a chink of light emerged yesterday when a High Court judge decided Mr Jordan was entitled to lodge a complaint about North Yorkshire Police's chief constable Grahame Maxwell – even though the senior officer had no knowledge of Mrs Jordan's death.

It is feared the decision will open the floodgates for hundreds of complaints against chief constables across the country, requiring costly investigations at a time when police budgets are being slashed.

In his judgment, Judge Peter Langan QC, sitting in Leeds, said Mrs Jordan, of York, was 93 when she died of pneumonia in hospital in September 2005. No inquest was held into her death.

Mr Jordan, who was his mother's full-time carer, believed her death was linked to treatment she received during respite care at a private residential home operating under a contract with City of York Council.

In July 2008, after raising concerns with the home, the council, his MP and public bodies including the Commission for Social Care Inspection, he asked police to carry out a criminal investigation.

Two months later, he received a letter from the police officer leading the inquiry, Det Insp Stephen Maud, which said there were "no grounds" to suspect foul play.

Mr Jordan responded by making an official complaint about Det Insp Maud to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC). The judge said this complaint "eventually ran into the ground" because Det Insp Maud retired and was unwilling to co-operate, so Mr Jordan complained to North Yorkshire Police Authority (NYPA) about Mr Maxwell instead.

NYPA claimed it was unable to help Mr Jordan but the IPCC told it to record the complaint even though Mr Maxwell had no involvement in the case.

Yesterday the judge refused NYPA's application for a judicial review of the IPCC's decision but granted it leave to appeal.

Lawyers for NYPA argued the IPCC's decision would mean people dissatisfied with a police decision could "overload the system by making pointless requests to chief officers" but the IPCC claimed that recording complaints was "a matter of registration" and police forces could dispose of any repetitious or unsuitable requests by applying for dispensation.

NYPA and the police force have already spent 8,500 on the case and have yet to decide whether to take it to the Court of Appeal.

Outside court, Mr Jordan said: "I'm not in this for any compensation. I'm in it for recognition of why my mother died.

"I think it's a bloody mess. Hurdle after hurdle has been placed in front of me.

"We are in a society these days where the slightest thing like somebody tripping over a paving slab can end up in court. That is very different to the investigation of a death, but you get tarred with the same brush.

"Because of the possibility of incurring costs the authorities don't want to bother but I'm going to insist that they bother come Hell or high water."

NYPA deputy chief executive Stuart Pudney said the case was about the interpretation and application of the very complex laws about complaints against the police. "This was not a matter of winning or losing but was to clarify the law."

The authority, force and the IPCC had all agreed the case was important enough for the successful party to not seek costs from the unsuccessful party, he added.

Allegations can be costly to probe

Dealing with complaints against chief constables can be expensive and often means getting senior officers to investigate each other.

Earlier this week the Yorkshire Post revealed Durham Police's chief constable Jon Stoddart would carry out an inquiry into Mr Maxwell's conduct.

Mr Stoddart was appointed to look into allegations Mr Maxwell tried to help his deputy's wife obtain a job with North Yorkshire Police.

It is alleged he attempted to secure a transfer for Adam Briggs' wife, herself a police officer, from West Yorkshire Police shortly before he formally took up North Yorkshire's top job in May 2007. No transfer ultimately took place.