Disbelief as rare police car plate goes to ex-chief for bargain price
A POLICE boss has been accused of short changing his force after he sold off a rare number plate for hundreds of thousands of pounds less than its market value to a former chief constable.
John Campion, who was elected police and crime commissioner for the West Mercia force last year, put the AB1 plate – which had adorned police vehicles in the region since 1904 – up for sale to raise funds for his force.
It was bought for £160,000 by Paul West, West Mercia’s former chief constable, who made a private bid rather than go through an authorised dealer. But questions have been raised over the sale after it emerged that the plate could actually be worth £500,000.
West Mercia’s AB1 plate had traditionally been used on the chief constable’s car, but was removed six years ago for security reasons. Despite being advertised with a guide price of £175,000, Mr Campion accepted a lower offer after cutting out the dealer.
But Alan Hebbs, who works for the plate dealer, Mark Hunt, said: “The AB1 plate is as rare as you can get and it is like owning a piece of fine art or a valuable antique. The AG1 plate is on sale at the moment for £500,000; that is arguably not as desirable as this one. It will only increase in value and in a couple of years it could be worth as much as £700,000.”
Last night Mr West, who was chief constable between 2003 and 2011, insisted he had bought the plate because he did not want to see its connection to the force lost forever.
He told The Sunday Telegraph: “I decided to make a direct offer to ensure that if the offer was accepted, all of my money would go to West Mercia for the purposes of policing and none would be wasted in commission for a straightforward transaction that involves nothing more than a signature on a document.
“The only figure that was being talked about in the media at the time I made my offer was £175,000. Whilst I am not willing to divulge what I paid, I am quite happy to say that the offer I made was for more than West Mercia Police would have received if AB1 had been sold for £175,000 minus any dealer’s commission.”
But Peter McDonald, the Labour leader on Worcestershire County Council, said: “If you are going to sell the family jewels it is important you achieve the best price available. We may well have missed out on hundreds of thousands of pounds of much needed money to help make up for cuts in manpower and equipment.”
However, Mr Campion said: “I am confident that proper process was followed regarding the sale. The registration was advertised openly and the highest offer was accepted.” of