Cheshire police chief cleared of misconduct in 'bullying' inquiry

A chief constable whose career ended while he was suspended over more than 70 misconduct claims has been completely cleared of wrongdoing.

Simon Byrne was cleared by a panel of all 74 allegations made against him while he was chief constable of Cheshire police. Some of the claims were branded “trivial” and “exaggerated”.

The cost to the public was estimated at £350,000 and the panel for the gross misconduct inquiry, concluded at Warrington town hall on Tuesday, said the hearing should have been avoided.

The claims against Byrne, which included bullying and mood swings, meant his contract ran out this year while he was suspended. He had been selected as chief constable of Cheshire constabulary in 2014 and suspended in 2017.

The misconduct hearing heard statements that he appeared to be like Darth Vader from Star Wars and that he treated his staff “like roadkill”.

The panel dismissed claims that he “exploded” over an episode dubbed puddlegate, when floods delayed his journey to work. He had also faced a claim that he had assigned characters from the TV series Dad’s Army to staff to suggest they were not performing to standard.

Claims that the chief constable arrested a suspect as part of a competition with other senior officers were also dismissed. There was also no evidence, the panel said, that Byrne was “aggressive, red in the face, spat and waved his arms in the air when berating” a witness.

During his 35-year police career Byrne also served as deputy chief constable for the Greater Manchester police, in 2009, and as assistant commissioner in the Metropolitan police, where his muscular style angered some; but others saw it as a determined attempt to drive up standards.

The panel noted that his arrival in Cheshire from the Met had been greeted by some with trepidation. It dismissed some witness statements against him as exaggerated or wrong, and in other instances found Byrne’s behaviour did not breach standards.

The panel, chaired by an independent barrister, said the costly and time-consuming process of investigating the claims should have been avoided. “We understand that it was difficult for some staff to adapt, and we have a degree of sympathy towards them. But they attributed malevolence to his behaviour when there was no justification for doing so. This, we believe, explains the preponderance of allegations which were trivial or exaggerated.”

The episode will draw attention to the system of elected police and crime commissioners, introduced by the Conservative government as a way to improve standards. Critics, including some police chiefs, say the reform has seen PCCs get rid of talented policing leaders and has made it harder to recruit chief constables.

David Keane, police and crime commissioner for Cheshire, who ordered an independent inquiry in 2016 over claims surrounding Byrne, defended his actions in suspending the officer. “When faced with such allegations … I believed I had no realistic alternative but to place the matter before an independent panel for determination of the facts. Any other course would have been against my core values of fairness and openness.”

Byrne said: “The whole case and allegations against me have been rejected and I suspect that members of the public will be astonished that, for example, one of the allegations involved me ‘misapplying’ my time as chief constable in responding to a 999 call from a victim of domestic violence, assisting in the search for the offender and transporting him to a custody centre.”

Joanne Moorcroft, secretary of the Cheshire police branch of Unison, said: “Every one of them genuinely believed and still believes that they were the victim of bullying and inappropriate behaviour.”