In the Lords on 20 March, Alistair Lexden returned to an issue which has concerned him greatly for a long time.
He said: “I remind the House that for many months, through many questions, I have been trying to find out why a police gross misconduct hearing in Cleveland, announced in August 2021, has still not started.
“A former chief constable, Mike Veale—a man dogged by controversy, to put it politely, since he vilified Sir Edward Heath several years ago—is due to appear at this hearing.
“A detailed report on the complaints against Mr Veale, still unpublished, by the Independent Office for Police Conduct following a two-year inquiry, preceded the announcement of the hearing 18 months ago.
“Things often proceed far too slowly where police misconduct is concerned, but this surely must be a record.”
He then asked the three questions at the heart of this scandal:
“Are the Government absolutely content for this hearing to be indefinitely postponed, perhaps never to take place?
“Are the Government absolutely content that the legally qualified chair, who has sole charge of this hearing, should remain anonymous, even though, in the words of a Written Answer that I received on 22 February: ‘There are no provisions in legislation which entitle legally qualified chairs of police misconduct cases to remain anonymous’ ?
"Are the Government absolutely content that an autonomous, anonymous chair should deny the public any reason why this hearing has not started?“
In his reply, the Lords Home Office Minister, Lord Sharpe of Epsom, failed to provide answers, evading the central issues in this scandal, as he has done on previous occasions.
However, his answers to supplementary questions by other Members revealed that the Home Office, which says it lacks power to intervene, has been in contact with the police authorities in Cleveland, and that “ Cleveland is starting to make serious progress on the engagement front.”
Last year the Home Office turned down Alistair Lexden’s request for a meeting. Now it is keen to organise a meeting, which should take place next month.
It remains to be seen whether the Home Office has at last recognised that it cannot allow this scandal to continue indefinitely.
