Top officers are cleared of any wrong-doings
THE former senior police officers at the centre of an affairs scandal at the top of Northumbria Police have been cleared of any wrong-doing in a long-awaited report.
An independent investigation into the actions of senior officers, including former Chief Constable Mike Craik, was commissioned after allegations against them were made public in an employment tribunal.
It was claimed that Mr Craik had an affair with Carolyn Peacock, an ex Assistant Chief Constable at the force.
And after the fling came to light Carolyn’s husband, former Chief Supt Jim Peacock, punched Mr
Craik at a barbecue at the then Chief Constable’s Northumberland home, in 2007.
The claims surfaced during a 2016 employment tribunal into the dismissal of Northumbria Police legal chief, Denise Aubrey.
It was alleged armed officers had attended the Craiks’ home in Bamburgh, after a panic alarm at the property was activated.
But it was claimed the call-out was deleted from the Northumbria Police’s logs in order to cover up the incident.
Former Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Vera Baird asked Staffordshire Police to carry out an independent investigation into the rumours and allegations.
A report into the probe, by Nicholas Baker, Staffordshire Police Deputy Chief Constable, has now been published. And it says the investigation did not find “any credible evidence” to back the claims. It found no evidence of a panic alarm and said no incident log “was ever created”.
The investigation looked into six specific allegations, including that Mr Peacock had assaulted Mr Craik, and claims the assault was not investigated at the Chief Constable’s instruction.
In carrying out the investigation Staffordshire Police interviewed police officers and staff of all ranks.
The team found no evidence that the alleged incident had occurred at Mr Craik’s home, and said those who recalled it could be suffering from “false memory” after hearing rumours about it or reading about it in the press.
The report says: “It has been necessary throughout this investigation to balance people’s recollections alongside what others say.
“The investigation identified a number of Northumbria Police employees who recall being sent to or attending the incident and/or seeing an incident log during the summer of 2007. This report highlights a number of concerns with their recollections, not least the fact that when considering all of their duties within the relevant time period it was not possible that all could have done or seen what they believe they did.
“The investigation has not identified any credible evidence to support the allegations that an incident occurred at Mr and Mrs Craik’s house, nor that a panic alarm was installed at either his house in Bamburgh or his flat in Gosforth in 2007 which may have been activated.
“The investigation has not identified any credible evidence to show that an incident log relating to such a rumour was ever created or subsequently deleted.
“The investigation has not identified any officer who attended the address.”
Mike Craik was the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police between 2005 and 2010. He became known for his hard-hitting approach to tackling crime and disorder, which sparked slogans like ‘Total Policing’ and ‘The Party’s Over’.