THE former chief constable of Cleveland Police is to face gross misconduct proceedings, the police watchdog has said.

Mike Veale was brought into the force in 2018 when he said one of the reasons he took the role was to address the 'failures of leadership and failures of moral courage' and lead the force forward.

Now the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said it has carried out investigations into allegations from the second half of 2018, before Mr Veale stepped down from Cleveland Police in 2019.

The former senior officer, also led a controversial inquiry into sexual allegations against the late prime minister Sir Edward Heath when he was in charge of Wiltshire Police, is accused of breaching “standards of professional behaviour” during his time at the force.

This will not be the first time that Mr Veale has been investigated by the IOPC, in 2017 he told colleagues that he had dropped his golf bag and it was inadvertently run over, smashing a mobile phone, but he later confessed to hitting his bag with a golf club after a particularly poor shot.

The former senior officer, who was working at Wiltshire Police at the time of the incident, was cleared of deliberately smashing up the phone to destroy evidence connected to an investigation into Sir Edward Heath following an investigation.

Since he quit Cleveland Police in January 2019, he has acted as an advisor to Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner.

The IOPC said it had passed on its latest findings to the Cleveland PCC in February.

A spokesman for the independent watchdog said: “We found that there was sufficient evidence to indicate that Mr Veale had breached the standards of professional behaviour.

“Following discussion, we have accepted the then PCC’s determinations that Mr Veale should face proceedings for gross misconduct.

“The allegations relate to conduct between July and December 2018 when serving as chief constable.

“It will be for the PCC to formulate the nature of the misconduct charges, based on our findings, and to bring those proceedings to a future misconduct hearing.

“All concerned parties have been notified.”

In 2019 the IOPC said it was investigating Mr Veale for “alleged inappropriate behaviour towards colleagues, discrimination, and unprofessional behaviour”.

Cleveland PCC Steve Turner said: “The matter will shortly be referred to an independent panel, chaired by an independent lawyer, to hold a misconduct hearing to consider the evidence, make appropriate findings and determine any appropriate outcome.”

Depending on the outcome, Mr Veale could be barred from serving as a police officer again.

Last month, it was revealed that current Chief Constable Richard Lewis is favourite to take over at Dyfed-Powys Police Force in Wales means the force is looking for its seventh boss in a decade.

The Northern Echo: Chief Constable Richard LewisChief Constable Richard Lewis

Richard Lewis took over the reins of the scandal-hit force in 2019 after arriving from his native force in Wales where he was the deputy chief constable.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054