QUESTIONS to the head of Cleveland Police’s integrity unit about her close relationship with her “discredited” predecessor led to part of a misconduct hearing being held behind closed doors.

The chair of the hearing, which will decide whether Middlesbrough officer Sergeant Waseem Khan, committed gross misconduct, ordered that part of the proceedings should be held in private after Superintendent Bev Gill was quizzed over whether she was “exceptionally close” to Superintendent Jon Green.

Supt Green was “moved sideways” in the force and is under investigation, with other officers, by police watchdog the IPCC after an employment tribunal ruled last November that he had victimised Asian firearms officer Nadeem Saddique.

After the ruling last year he was removed from the professional standards, or integrity, unit and replaced by Supt Gill.

John Beggs QC, acting for Sgt Khan, said the tribunal had ruled that there was an “old guard” within the professional standards unit which “didn’t think that racial discrimination was important”.

“There was an assumption about people from Pakistan that they were playing the race card,” he said.

“That is a serious finding against the head of professional standards, is it not? It strikes at the very centre of professional standards, doesn’t it?”

He added that the tribunal last year had found that Supt Green “victimised and directly discriminated against the claimant”.

The panel heard that Supt Green had overseen the initial investigation into Sgt Khan, and Mr Beggs asked Supt Gill if she had reviewed the case when she took over the role.

She said there had been a handover, but Mr Beggs argued this was not the same as a full review into the case.

He then said: “Did you maintain a professional detachment from Supt Green? Or were you, in fact, exceptionally close to him?”

Supt Gill said: “I did keep a professional distance from Supt Green.

“I have a personal friendship with the officer.”

Mr Beggs added: “That is the truth, and whole truth, is it? It goes beyond just a friendship, doesn’t it?”

Cleveland Police’s barrister Dijen Basu, said: “This strays into tittle-tattle.” He then made a successful application to hold the rest of the questioning on the matter in private.

Sgt Khan is facing gross misconduct proceedings due to personal relationships he had with alleged criminals.

The Asian officer, who has been suspended for three and a half years before misconduct proceedings were brought, denies all the allegations and has launched an employment tribunal.

It is claimed he logged intelligence reports against procedure, and allowed a dangerous driver to be released without charge, after the driver had led a 60 mph police chase through residential streets in Middlesbrough before dousing himself in petrol and threatening to set himself on fire.

A number of allegations have been made by Mohammed Anwar, who claims Sgt Khan ordered him to be arrested and his property searched, before advising him not to speak to police. Sgt Khan allegedly visited him at his garage later and told him he faced between five and nine years behind bars.

Today’s panel heard that Sgt Khan had also launched an employment tribunal against the force, which will start in January, after claiming racial discrimination.