Exclusive: £200,000 payoff for disgraced top police officer

It has emerged that North Yorkshire Police Authority would have to make the payment to Grahame Maxwell because he is required to leave his £133,000 a year post before he being able to secure his full pension entitlement after 30 years of service.

The payment – which is governed by nationally-agreed chief officer regulations – must be made after Mr Maxwell leaves the force next May unless he obtains another job in the police service.

The authority, which is already shouldering its share of severe public spending cuts, acknowledged it was aware of the potential financial burden when it decided not to extend Mr Maxwell’s fixed term contract beyond the current five-year term.

Julian Smith, Tory MP for Skipton and Ripon, described the sums surrounding Mr Maxwell’s pension and the potential compensation as “staggering”, adding the police authority had to be transparent about any payments made.

It is believed to be the first time the compensation regulation would be activated following a decision not to renew a chief constable’s contract. And the payment places a significant financial question mark against the Government’s plans to make it easier for chief constables to be removed under the new elected police commissioners who are due to replace police authorities next year.

A Home Office spokeswoman said the regulation would be looked at as part of an ongoing review of police pay and conditions by Tom Winsor, who was commissioned by the Home Secretary a year ago.

Mr Maxwell will have completed 28-and-a-half years of service when his contract ends and under national police pension and employment rules he is entitled to a compensation payment because he is leaving before he has 30 years of service under his belt.

The payment is based on a calculation of the difference between the lump sum he would have been entitled to if he had completed 30 years and the lump sum entitlement for 28-and-a-half years.

North Yorkshire Police Authority has declined to reveal the exact sum Mr Maxwell would be entitled to receive but calculations based around his £133,000 final salary and the general pension regulations show a lump sum payment after 30 years comfortably in excess of £400,000 while the figure for 28-and-a-half years drops to under £200,000.

Under the national regulations, Mr Maxwell would receive 85 per cent of the difference.

Julian Smith said: “I think that North Yorkshire taxpayers will be surprised by this news. It is very important that the Police Authority is clear to the public about exactly what it is paying out.

“The overall sums are staggering and I hope that the national review of pay and conditions will look at this.”

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “If a chief officer’s fixed-term appointment is not renewed, they are entitled to compensation as set out under the relevant Police Negotiating Board agreement.

“Tom Winsor is looking at how officers, including chief officers, leave the service as part of his pay and conditions review. This will be published in January.”

Details of the arrangement emerged following a Yorkshire Post freedom of information request.

The police authority, which refused Mr Maxwell’s request to extend his contract last month, underlined that any chief constable would be entitled to the payment

and there was no separate “exit package” for Mr Maxwell.

Chief executive Jeremy Holderness confirmed that the need for a police authority to make a statutory compensation payment to a chief officer whose Fixed Term Appointment (FTA) comes to an end before that officer achieves 30 years of service was one, but only one, of a number of relevant factors taken account when deciding not to extend his contract.

Mr Maxwell, who admitted gross misconduct after an inquiry found he tried to unfairly help a relative during a recruitment exercise, declined to comment. The chief constable, who is 50, is understood to be seeking another job in the police service.

Neither the Association of Chief Police Officers nor the Chief Police Officers’ Staff Association would comment on the principles surrounding the compensation regulation.