Cleveland Authority chair resigns over `conflict of interest`

A new chairman will be appointed at Cleveland Police Authority following the resignation of Peter Race on Wednesday (December 14) due to a “conflict of interest”.

Mr Race, who has only held the post since May, stood down with immediate effect.

Mayor of Hartlepool Stuart Drummond, currently the authority’s vice-chairman, will assume the position until a full-time replacement is found.

The authority will meet in the near future to make a decision, although a date for an appointment is yet to be fixed.

In a letter to Stuart Pudney, chief executive of the organisation, Mr Race said: “Following a recent meeting between the authority, HMIC [Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary] and the head of Operation Sacristy, I have become aware of what could be perceived as a potential conflict of interest for me if I were to continue in my role as chair or a member of CPA [Cleveland Police Authority].”

Operation Sacristy, which is looking into people with current or past associations with the Authority and the way it conducted its business, is being carried out by North Yorkshire Police and led by Keith Bristow, the newly appointed head of the National Crime Agency.

Earlier this year it resulted in the arrests of Cleveland’s chief and deputy chief constables, Sean Price and Derek Bonnard, who are both on bail and deny wrongdoing.

It also led to the arrest of the former chairman, Dave McLuckie, who Mr Race replaced. Mr McLuckie resigned when it was revealed he was the subject of a criminal investigation.

Mr Pudney, who only last week was appointed as chief executive, thanked Mr Race for the work he has done for the authority, but would not comment on the reasons for his departure.

Mr Drummond praised Mr Race’s leadership and achievements in bringing stability to the governing body and dealing with the challenges it faced, “in particular the struggle to balance the budget whilst at the same time maintaining frontline services”.

“Peter stepped up into the position of chairman in May under very difficult circumstances and the last few months have been very demanding,” said Mr Drummond.

“The knowledge, experience and wisdom that Peter brought the authority will be missed greatly, however, I am committed to take the authority forward and ensuring that the standard of policing in Cleveland is maintained at the very highest level.”