NYE Review of Chief Officers ’24 Expenses (Pt.3)

NYE Review of NYP ’24 expenses (Pt 3)

by TIM HICKS

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Senior NYP Officers under investigation

Regular readers of the NYE will know that the NYE has been covering two major stories concerning allegations of misconduct by NYP Senior Officers. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has now provided an update.

• 20th December 2023: Criminal investigation into Senior Officer North Yorkshire Police. An IOPC Spokesperson confirmed:

“Our independent investigation into an allegation that a senior North Yorkshire Police (NYP) officer may have provided a false or misleading account to avoid receiving a sanction for a speeding offence concluded in August.

We determined the officer, who has since left the force, has a case to answer for gross misconduct and the force will now arrange for disciplinary proceedings to take place.

We also considered an allegation the officer used their role to try and influence others involved in the process. We found no evidence they had improperly used their position to influence decision makers involved in the application for an exemption to the speeding ticket.

Based on the available evidence, we did not consider the threshold was met to refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.”

The confirmation that the officer has since left the force indicates the officer has resigned or retired.

• 15th May 2024: Information provided during vetting – North Yorkshire Police. This case is presumably still under investigation.

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A Disgraceful History of Abuse of the Public Purse by NYP Senior Officers.

Historically, NYP has a disgraceful history of financial scandals:

Chief Constable Della Canning

• Chief Constable Della Canning had a personal shower installed in her office. Cost to the public – £28,400.
• Senior officers received Volvo V70s and Range Rovers at a cost of £500,000, even though they were not qualified to drive these vehicles on police duties.

Superintendent Paul Ackerley

• Superintendent Paul Ackerley, who was in charge of NYP training and whose wife Peta’s training company received £400,000 in payments for training which was often obtained “without going through proper procurement procedures’. Superintendent Ackerley was allowed to retire so he escaped disciplinary action.

Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) David Collins

• ACC David Collins who took sick leave claiming stress, while simultaneously running a life-coaching and consultancy service on full pay. He was also allowed to retire so he escaped disciplinary action.

Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell and Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Adam Briggs

• Chief Constable Maxwell (pictured in the lead illustration) received thousands of pounds for “personal development” training, but was unable to account for how he spent the money.
• Chief Constable Graeme Maxwell charged £7,716.01 for attendance at conferences and seminars in the UK, Amsterdam, Bahrain, Estonia and Copenhagen which he should have covered with to his development allowance, but this was passed on to the taxpayer as a training cost.
• DCC Adam Briggs also received thousands of pounds for “personal development” training, which he was also unable to account for.
• Chief Constable Maxwell and DCC Briggs refused to re-pay the training allowances, which amounted to about £100,000. The then Police, Fire & Crime Commissioner (PFCC) Julia Mulligan did not attempt to reclaim it with legal action.
• Chief Constable Maxwell and DCC Briggs were both accused of other misconduct matters. The costs of bringing the disciplinary cases against them were £218,456. Most of it related to Chief Constable Maxwell, who admitted Gross Misconduct shortly before the disciplinary hearing. Had he admitted his guilt straight away most of this money would have been saved.
• Chief Constable Maxwell charged private expenditure for a ticket for the Edinburgh Tattoo to his NYP expenses.

DCC Sue Cross

• On multiple occasions, DCC Cross charged overnight accommodation for a single day’s duty in London and other locations which were within travelling distance of North Yorkshire. Needlessly incurring the cost of a night in an expensive hotel.

DCC Tim Madgwick

• DCC Madgwick, whose private hobby was being a voluntary board member of Special Olympics GB (SOGB), charged the costs of this – which had nothing to do with policing in North Yorkshire – to his NYP expenses. Presumably because the Special Olympics GB will not reimburse this expenditure. In my view, if it is not reimbursable by SOGB, then it should not be paid for by North Yorkshire taxpayers.
• DCC Madgwick flew to Dublin and charged this to expenses, although his duties do not normally take him outside the UK. No explanation or justification for this has been provided. NYP article here.
• DCC Madgwick attended a garden party at Buckingham Palace and charged overnight accommodation in a London Hotel to expenses, instead of coming back that night on the train.

Ms Joanna Carter

• Ms Carter was the Chief Executive of the Office of the PFCC and responsible for upholding financial control. She claimed £1,937.38 of personal expenses without disclosing what they were for.

PFCC Julia Mulligan, Chief Constable Dave Jones and Ms Joanna Carter

• PFCC Mulligan, Chief Constable Jones and Chief Executive Carter authorised hundreds of thousands of pounds to be spent on legal action against NYE journalists (Operation HYSON). However:
• PFCC Mulligan, Ms Carter and Chief Constable Jones had conflicts of interest in this decision which they did not declare.
• PFCC Mulligan was aware of these conflicts of interest but did not challenge them or disclose them.
• Public funds were provided to individuals unconnected with the Police, who had locked an old age pensioner and World War 2 veteran out of her home while she was ill abroad, then tried to sell it from under her and keep the funds for themselves. In my view, an offence of fraud by abuse of position. These facts were not disclosed to the lawyers that advised on the action, or in the decision notice granting them police funding.
• Chief Constable Dave Jones, Chief Constable Lisa Winward and DCC Tim Madgwick used ACC Paul Kennedy to manage this legal action which they stood to personally profit from by thousands of pounds each in damages. Although this had nothing to do with Kennedy’s Police duties. This diverted him from performing the policing duties he was paid to perform, to support their private civil action.
• Commissioner Mulligan, Chief Constable Jones and Chief Executive Carter authorised public funds allocated to Operation Hyson (following a previously wasted £410,000 allocated to its predecessor, Operation Rome) to be covertly siphoned off to finance legal action by a Conservative politician against NYE journalists, when this was not authorized, or disclosed anywhere.
• Predictably, following a determined defence by Nigel Ward and I, Operation Hyson failed to obtain costs, damages or an injunction and failed miserably. The NYE is still publishing and this failure resulted in a huge bill for the North Yorkshire taxpayer for no tangible benefit – even to the wrongdoers. PFCC Mulligan, Chief Constable Jones, DCC Madgwick, Chief Constable Winward and Ms Carter did not reimburse a penny of the taxpayers’ money they wasted on this bungled operation.
• Operation Hyson attracted more criticism of NYP in the media, further enhancing the Force’s already impressive reputation for being scandal-ridden and unable to control its spending. Private Eye report below:

• Operation Hyson was taxpayer funded civil litigation on behalf of individuals. It was unrelated to policing. It was a classic example of a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP). That is:

“a lawsuit intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition”.

The NYE submitted evidence on Operation Hyson to the Ministry of Justice investigation into SLAPPs NYE article here. This helped get SLAPPs restricted by the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. Obviously, it was completely unethical for a public body to initiate a SLAPP. Sad to report, in October 2023, Whitby Town Council attempted a similar (and similarly failed) action against our reporter Nigel Ward. Without success.

Chief Constable Dave Jones

• Removal expenses of £40,717.45 were paid to Chief Constable Jones directly or on his behalf when he was appointed, when the normal limit was £12,000. In contrast, Assistant Chief Constable Kennedy only charged £2,020.23. Report here.
• Chief Constable Jones visited Northern Ireland in September 2014 and again on the 9^th and 10^th of May 2017. No justification has ever been given for him to charge it to NYP through his expenses, cost £817.34. The Police Service of Northern Ireland has confirmed that it has no documentation on what these visits were for, leading to the conclusion that they were personal journeys that should not have been charged to expenses. 
• Chief Constable Jones charged £45.00 for attending a police dinner dance to expenses.

Chief Constable Lisa Winward (pictured below)

• Chief Constable Lisa Winward charged her attendance at multiple taxpayer funded FBI Alumni conferences in foreign tourist destinations which included banquets, time for shopping, sightseeing and networking to the training budget. These junkets were not disclosed openly on the NYP website with an itinerary, or syllabus. The value of the training was dubious and better training was available in the UK, without the cost of flights and hotels.
• Chief Constable Winward claiming expenses for staying in the Four Star Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel from Friday 22nd September 2017 to attend an FBINAA conference that started on Monday 25th September (cost £354.48), when she should have booked one night for 25th September. Again, no justification has ever been provided for this expenditure.

PFCC Julia Mulligan, PFCC Philip Allott and PFCC Zoë Metcalfe

• The expenses of all three Commissioners from 2016 onward were paid without adequate disclosure of what purpose the expenditure was for and do not comply with the Elected Local Policing Bodies (Specified Information Order) 2011 as amended. NYE article here.
• Taxpayers paid for a Uniform Badge for Commissioner Allott although he doesn’t wear uniform.

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The NYE Review of Chief Officers 2024 (Part 3)

A culture of entitlement and unaccountability amongst Chief Police Officers has been a major issue in policing. It was covered by the Daily Mail in this article and another here from which a few quotes are relevant to this article:

“A culture of entitlement meant some in the highest ranks believed they had a right to perks and privileges including gym membership, school fees, overseas travel, hospitality and executive cars.”

“Police chiefs were also investigated for misconduct over pay, perks, hospitality, travel and expenses,” 

[My underlining]

In 2016, the then Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, cracked down on abuses of expenses by Senior Police Officers and this had a big impact, improving standards in most forces. Only North Yorkshire Police has had this sustained, constant stream of scandals involving misuse of public funds.

My 2024 review has revealed that four of the six NYP Chief Officers have submitted expenses and there are similar inconsistencies. Nothing has changed:

• Chief Constable Tim Forber, DCC Scott Bisset, ACC Catherine Clarke and Assistant Chief Officer Lisa Stitt have routinely claimed for hotel accommodation within North Yorkshire at variously Harrogate, Northallerton, Whitby and York. All these officers live in North Yorkshire, are employed by NYP to work within and all over North Yorkshire – which is why they are provided with an official vehicle. It takes less than an hour and a half by car to travel across the force area. So there is no need for these officers to stay in a hotel within North Yorkshire and charge food and accommodation to the taxpayer.
• Incredibly Chief Constable Forber and DCC Scott Bisset have charged for overnight accommodation at Northallerton, which is the location of NYP Force Headquarters and their normal place of work. There can be no reason or justification for this. While I am open to correction, the only reason I can think of for both officers staying in a hotel next to force headquarters is that they may have been drinking and could not therefore drive home.
• The authorized allowance for overnight accommodation under the force expenses policy is £90.00. However, Chief Constable Forber and DCC Scott Bisset have claimed and received reimbursement of accommodation expenses above this limit.
• The authorized limit for hotel accommodation in London is £150 per night. Chief Constable Forber has charged £777.15 for three nights in London.
• Chief Constable Forber has claimed £3.99 for a car wash, which is not allowable for reimbursement through expenses.
• Chief Constable Forber, DCC Bisset, ACC Clarke and ACO Stitt all charged an overnight stay at the Police Treatment Centre at Harrogate to expenses. The rooms are double occupancy and it is unclear if they were joined by their wives, husbands, girlfriends or boyfriends.

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Failure of Financial Control and a Culture of Secrecy

So why are these issues still occurring in NYP? In my view, this is because there is:

• Excessive and inappropriate deference to Chief Officers, resulting in a failure to properly review and approve Chief Officers expenses, confront mistakes and/or misconduct. Hence, the above history of failure by the NYP Finance Department to uphold force expenses policy and normal standards of financial control.
• A failure to keep adequate records.
• A completely ineffective Finance Department that is incapable of implementing financial control. This article by YorkMix Report reveals catalogue of mismanagement by NYP revealed:
• NYP has no fleet management strategy or approved fleet management plan, which “could lead to inappropriate vehicles being purchased… impacting value for money”.
• Police cars and vans listed in documents are not physically verified. So the force “may not identify any missing vehicles, should any discrepancies exist… This could have a range of implications, including the insurance of Force vehicles.”
• There is “limited” oversight of the police’s vehicle repair system. “It is therefore not clear whether the Force is achieving value for money in respect of repairs, maintenance, and equipment costs.” As an example, NYP spent £38,614on a vehicle when the same vehicle cost only £21,000
• Forty-five vehicles needed replacing in 2022/23 but were not replaced because there was “minimal budget” left – however, the Chief Financial Officer was not informed. “This may result in an ageing fleet, meaning the Force cannot deliver operationally.”
• The ‘wrong’ vehicles were sometimes ordered. In one case a BMW was listed but a different model delivered. In another case, documents said “cell vans would be replaced with Ford Transit vans; however, the orders had been placed for Peugeot vehicles instead.”
• Used Police vehicles sold on at auction lacked a paper trail, which means “there is a risk that vehicle disposals are not processed correctly and the Force may not receive all monies due.”
• The auditors identified a fleet replacement budget in 2022/23 of £1.4 million– with an overspend of another £1.4 million already forecasted.
• Finally, my favorite. An electric cell van “currently sits in the Transport Hub at Thirsk as the Force does not currently have the infrastructure for electric vehicles”.
• A culture amongst Chief Officers of, bureaucratic intransigence and resistance to legitimate public scrutiny. Perfectly epitomized by Chief Constable Maxwell’s statement “I am Chief Constable and can do what I want”.
• Lack of commitment by the Police Fire and Crime Commissioner and the North Yorkshire Police Fire & Crime Panel, and now Deputy Mayor Jo Coles, to obtaining financial control and value for money. Leading to a failure to confront misconduct. In turn leading to a culture of impunity amongst senior officers.

As an example, Chief Constable Forber, DCC Bisset, ACC Clarke, Assistant Chief Officer Stitt and Deputy Mayor Coles are all refusing to provide an explanation for the above concerns. This is in accordance with the joint policy of Chief Constable Forber and Deputy Mayor Jo Coles of proscribing the NYE, so they don’t have to face up to the issues we are raising.

Incredibly, they are allowed to get away with this. I have previously complained to the North Yorkshire Police, Fire & Crime Panel. It responded:

“Thank you for your email of 2^nd February 2022 and for raising your concerns with us.  

…the Panel is satisfied with the information published on Chief Officer expenses…”

The good taxpayers of North Yorkshire pay a lot of money to Police, Fire & Crime Commissioners, Chief Executives, Chief Finance Officers, Councillors and Auditors, to ensure public funds are not wasted and there is open disclosure of what taxpayers’ money is spent on. They have been ineffective in upholding financial control and have sometimes actively supported Senior Officers efforts to withhold information from the public. It is obvious that I am wasting my time asking them for an explanation.

So I will apply for a response through the IOPC. I will inform readers of the outcome in due course.

[Note by NYE senior correspondent NIGEL WARD: Some of the amounts of apparently unauthorised Expenses Claims recorded in this Report may seem shockingly, outrageously large; others, by contrast, may seem petty and trivially small. I would ask readers to consider whether it may be that these smaller amounts count for more in the wider context of INTEGRITY and ACCOUNTABILITY. Are these smaller sums not indicative of a despicable sense of entitlement and an arrogant disdain for the their claimants’ moral and legal duty to the taxpaying public – that for pennies or thousands, so certain are they that their impunity is secure? I am in no doubt. In plain language, they consider themselves ‘above the law’.]