COUNTY Durham's police commissioner Ron Hogg was cleared of any wrongdoing this week at the end of a lengthy inquiry into perks he received when he retired as Deputy Chief Constable of Cleveland Police.

Mr Hogg received more than £17,000 in bonus payments and was gifted a £20,000 Range Rover when he stepped down as deputy in 2008, having served under disgraced chief constable Sean Price.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched an inquiry into the bonuses in 2013 and, at long last, has reached a conclusion. The watchdog found no evidence to justify criminal charges against Mr Hogg.

Legally, there is no case to answer and Mr Hogg would also point out that everything he received was properly approved by the Cleveland Police Authority. The cash and the car keys were not handed over in shady brown envelopes but it was all formally agreed by the relevant body.

We accept that fully but we still believe our readers will question why a retiring Deputy Chief Constable should be given a £20,000 car on top of his financial bonuses. It speaks volumes that Mr Hogg himself was "shocked and surprised" to receive the gift, which he promptly sold for £11,700.

Although it advocates no legal action, the IPCC does say it is reasonable to conclude that the retirement deal was outside of the provisions of the Police Negotiating Board agreement, and that should have been evident to Mr Hogg as an experienced officer.

Cleveland Police, meanwhile, has issued a statement reassuring its communities that chief officers' pay and the provision of vehicles is "in line with relevant regulations".

Nevertheless, it all smacks of a public sector organisation which, at the time, did pretty much what it liked and pushed the boundaries of what was right.